Skyscraper
by castielris
Summary: Self-insert. She died protecting a precious person, and she would die again for them. (Or in which a girl with knowledge was born into a story as the main protagonist. Thank God she's still a girl!) SI!OC as Fem!Izuku/Fem!Deku. SI!Deku. SI!Izuku.
1. you fermented in my bones

**SUMMARY:** "When you don't know what do with life, just go with the flow and pray you won't mess up." Canon Izuku might successfully saved the world, but she can successfully save the world too while making some small changes right? Self-Insert, SI-as-Deku/Izuku, Fem!Deku/Fem!Izuku

 **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Boku no Hero Academia aka My Hero Academia, in any way or shape or form. The only things I own are Shizuka and my plots!

 **WARNINGS:** Genderbent!Izuku (fem!Izuku), SI!Izuku. Also, some cussing because I'm a foul-mouthed person and just can't resist. And of course there's Bakugo's lovely vocabularies...

 **YES, this is** **a rewrite of Skyscraper.**

 **I'm aware I haven't written here for almost a month, but in that time I've read some SI-OC fanfictions that made me realize how bad my grammar and plot are. I'm amazed there's so many love for _Skyscraper_.**

 **To be honest, this is my first fanfiction in this site and I love it too.** **I plan to finish this story.**

 **Thank you so much for your supports, I love you guys ;')**

 **Enjoy!**

 **\- 05/05/18**

.

.

Chapter One:

 _You Fermented In My Bones_

.

.

I've always love the cold.

The sensation of frost biting my naked skin, overwhelming my senses with numbness. It's for the same reason as my love for rain: they reminds me that I'm alive — the physical pain kick-started my brain to the fact.

Lying in the midst of thin snow, I didn't know whether to be grateful or morose for the irony.

The cold that I so loved was biting ferociously into my skin, slowly tinting the pale white with sickly blue. The snow that digged into the wound on my stomach made my whole body painfully numb.

Even without seeing it, I knew the snow was turning red.

Someone was screaming my name, the panic sounded clearly in their voice. My blurry eyes managed to found the figure holding their winter coat to my wound, the tips of his blond hair stained with my blood. It was useless though, and from the sobbing he knew that too.

My breaths were starting to be really hard to take. Even with my whole energy, the oxygen just didn't want to get in. It was probably because of the long steel that had pierced my stomach — from what I vaguely recalled, it could pierce my lungs, which is one of the easiest way to kill someone.

The blonde is desperately cupping my face with a bloody hand, softly slapping it to kept me awake. He was sobbing harder now, the green eyes showed his raw fear of losing me.

I smiled softly, trying to assure him like I'd always done. He's always been such a crybaby, _that little brother of mine._ If even possible, he sobbed harder, his mouth frantically saying things I couldn't hear, but could see. My hands itched to ruffle his messy hair as was our routine, but it couldn't move besides trembling. So I resigned myself to say a few last things to him.

I knew I was drowning in my own blood, my own lungs failing me as the snow around us stained red. It was the tragic way I would go, but...

...I died with my beloved brother's face as the last thing I saw, so I left the world with a gentle happy smile in my face.

.

.

Since I love snow, cold, and rain, it's only natural that I love water as well.

Swimming wasn't something I indulged in daily, but those days that I did, I treasured. The most often times were twice a week, since there weren't any swimming pools near my house. I fiercely envied one of my friend who own a private pool in their backyard.

Water always calms me, and I could stay in there for hours and still not wanting to get out. It was like a small piece of heaven for me. Needless to say, I used to spent hours inside the bathroom and regularly exasperated my family. Some days they even thought I fell asleep inside.

Never had water made me panic like now.

From the darkness, water hit my immobilized body, the waves rough and threatening. The water was rushing to the small gap of blinding light, and I with it.

My lungs were caving in, I couldn't breathe—!

And then, I was forced to pass through the small hole head-first, warm things pulling gently at my chest.

Everything seemed awfully too bright. There were buzzing noises all around me, as if people were talking, and someone cleaned my body with warm wet towel from head-to-toe. The liquid I wasn't even aware of was wiped clear.

But despite all those overwhelming things, the only thing I really noticed was that _I could breathe again_. And with no small amount of relief, I cried. I cried and cried and in the back of my brain, I knew I realized something important. But even as warm pair of hands took me and an even warmer body hugged me to their chest, I tried not to think of it.

 _I'm alive, I'm alive. Why am I alive? God, I'm glad I'm alive._ _But why? I'm alive!_

Incoherent thoughts formed, but all of those evaporated once I opened my eyes.

The brightness wasn't as bright anymore, and my blurry eyes managed to catch some shaped blobs in front of me.

And no matter how I tried to deny it, surrounding me were giant people—

Or to be precise, adult-sized people. It wasn't them who were giant, it was me who shrinked.

 _I'm a baby again._

Have to admit it wasn't my brightest moment, but I fainted.

.

.

Being a baby was a blessing in disguise.

For the first few months, I did nothing but suckling milk and sleeping. My fragile body demanded sleep whenever my stomach wasn't rumbling. The lack of motor skill and my blurry eyesight wasn't helping either, so there'd been little to no else to do.

Also, my name is apparently Shizu. Either that or Shi. My new parents usually alternated between those two, even though sometimes they called me something else, something along the line of Shizua. It was so rare that I couldn't remember it well. Often times, I could hear them talking softly to me while I sleep, something I'm not sure real or not.

After the fourth month, everything got better.

I was able to actually see — my eyesight was still improving, but I'm grateful for it anyway. I'd also start babbling, and I could stay awake for more than an hour now.

My new parents are a-okay. My new father is a down-to-earth kind of person, and like to smile and carry me _everywhere_ he can. His smile is very infectious — I always felt ridiculously happy whenever he's around. My new mother is a gentle, soft-spoken woman, and a bit of a worrywart too. She likes to fret over the smallest things, like when I'd sneezed once. They look quite young, with my new mother — I have to start calling her "Mama" in my head from now on — being the youngest.

But what grabbed my attention the most, was her hair colour. It's dark green! Her eyebrows are the same amazing colour, so it couldn't have been faked. Soooo jealous... I hoped I get that colour, even though my new father's brunette hair is okay too.

Speaking of, how are those possible again? I was pretty sure they're japanese, from the littlest bit of the language I recognized and from their faces. Had japanese somehow mutated their genes and became like their anime counterpart? Because green eyes aren't common in any countries of Asia, too.

...Had I somehow been reborn into an anime or a manga...?

...Ahahaha, no way.

 _(I totally am.)_

Something nudged me gently on my cheek. I looked up to the amused face of my new father. I'd apparently abandoned him to daydream on the middle of their 'father-daughter bonding' time (his words). Oops. I babbled a bit in a half-hearted attempt to apologize, which he took by chuckling.

He said something, and stood to the other side of the room and came back with a paper and a marker in hands.

"Shizuka," He called me and then said something I didn't understand.But I understand enough from his gestures that he's going to show something to me.

"Shizuka, look," He raised his written paper close to me, and point at the four kanjis(?). "This is your name— Midoriya Shizuka."

 _...Wait, what?_

"These two here is spelled Midoriya, our surname. They translate as 'Green Valley'. And your first name here — Shizuka — means 'Calm and Excellent'." He explained.

Just because I happened to have the same last name as a main protagonist of an anime doesn't mean I'm in said anime. Midoriya is a common name, isn't it?

"Your name is Midoriya Shizuka, and Shizu-chan is the daughter of Midoriya Hisashi and Inko," Father continued, blissfully aware of the mental drop inside his child's head.

Of fucking _course_.

Yes, of course I am reborn in an anime. _Boku no Hero Academia_ , even. Don't get me wrong — it was one of my favorite anime and all. Certainly there are many worse animes to be born into. But I'd been reborn in the _main protagonist's_ family. What if I accidentally changed something? What will happen to the future, then?

No, wait, is Izuku even going to be born?

 _(The answer: he_ _isn't._

 _And a part of me is glad, is relieved.._

 _...I never wanted to be an older sister again,_

 _never wanted a sibling to witness my death again,_

 _never wanted to leave them again—_

 _... because it hurts._

 _It still hurt.)_

.

.

Cassiopeia Avery was a beautiful teenager.

She's named after the most beautiful princess of Greece, and grew up as one. She never knew her mother, nor does her or her brother knew his. Their father has always been a bit of a playboy like that. Honestly, she was surprised they didn't have more siblings (as far as they knew).

But despite that, Anthony Avery is a wonderful father. He work hard from his house everyday, so he never had to leave his children alone unless necessary. He's the one that changed their diapers, wiped their tears, and taught them the lessons of life. To them, Anthony is the most amazing father one could ever ask for.

Their tight-knitted family is like that because of Anthony's dedication. Cassie and her brother couldn't be more thankful. And of course, she'd always been a daddy's girl. Her father obviously cherished both of them _so much_ , and they him.

It was why... I couldn't accept Midoriya Hisashi as my father.

Even at one year old, I still wouldn't think of him as my father, whereas I already think of Midoriya Inko as her mother and even call her "Mama". It's easier, considering there's never been a mother figure in her previous life. However, to this day, the unrelenting effort of Hisashi to make me call him "Papa" is still unsuccessful.

There's always gonna be one father for me. All of her dad's hardwork of raising me... The last thing I could do is honoring him like that.

The next morning, I woke up to giant smiles on my new parents' faces.

"Happy birthday, Shizuka!" was what I think they said the second I open my eyes. My language isn't that good yet.

Clear orbs took several seconds to observe the extra cheery attitude, and beamed in return. I'd missed being special, even though I was practically coddled by my parents everyday. But birthdays are special, a whole day just for you.

That day, I was given a breakfast of low-sugar cake (they'd learnt not to give her too much sugar after the last sugar rush), along with my favorite modest meals — mini onigiri and rice balls. Then, for lunch there was miso ramen and for dinner they gave me sushi.

Yup, it was _heaven_.

Usually, gifts are given when one wake up, bright in the morning. But in the Midoriya household, said tradition is done in the night, right before bedtime. So after dinner and bath, I sat on the sofa of my living room, clad in an adorable bunny onesie. My knees and fingers bounced impatiently while Mama and Hisashi approach with gifts hidden behind their bodies.

"Mama! Wan'!" I demanded, the childish voice and annoying lisp perfected my cuteness. Even I could tell I'm a cute kid.

Hisashi would've melted into a puddle right then if he could. Inko, used to us, just cooed at the adorable picture and took a seat in the floor in front of me. She gave me her gift, which are toys, including the puzzle one I'd wanted. I squealed in delight and hugged my mother for all my worth.

" _Hime_ , open Papa's!"

Enthusiasm rearing inside my blood, I took the big box from his hands. The pale green box were neatly wrapped by a silver ribbon. It's design is beautiful with white laces and pearls and little bears. I'm definitely keeping the box.

Unexpectedly, the insides beat the box itself.

There are... many kind of things. A book and some writing utensils that Hisashi explained I'll need when I start learning to write — it's going to be _hell_ for me —, two or three teething toys, a few candies I'll definitely _treasure_ , a pair of necklace and bracelet for a child, and lastly, is a book almost the same size as the box.

"It's a scrap book that I made just for you, _Hime_." Hisashi beamed, the brown eyes shining with love and adoration that were directed to _me_. "You can put photos as you grow up, and write down things and explanation and anything else you want inside!"

"...Real'y? Fow me?"

"Of course — only the best for my precious _hime_!"

And turns out Hisashi's personality is infectious too, because right there and then I _melted._ The honest beam he gave me, and the conviction I could saw he feel from his words made the fragile walls around my heart crumbled.

"P'pa... P-Papa!"

"Ah! My little _Hime_! My little _Hime_ calls me Papa!"

And as I gave him a flying hug with teary eyes and countless thank yous, I realized something.

I might have a father she adored before, and that's okay. He'll _always_ be me father — the only one she'll call _Dad_ with spoiled tone, the only one she'll help fix cars, the only one she'll play soccer and golf and the occasional swim with.

Midoriya Hisashi is my second chance of having a father, my _redemption_ after breaking Dad's heart by dying. He's the only one I call _Papa_ , not Dad — my number one fan, the one I'll make cookies with, the one I'll sneakily eat said cookies everyday with.

I'm not replacing Dad, instead I'm getting a Papa. Two people with synonymous titles, but both hold different precious places inside my heart.

After hugging for a few minutes, I turned to the side only to saw Mama holding a camera in one hand, having just took their pictures that she promised look _great_. It made me pouted for a good while as my parents laughed at my adorableness. In the end, I couldn't help but grin.

It was a memorable day.

 _(And one day, I won't remember much from that day._

 _Only a treasured box, a homemade scrapbook, a precious photo..._

 _...And a warmth surrounding me.)_

.

.

 **NEXT UPDATE: BAKUGO KATSUKI.**

 **Two weeks from now I'm gonna have my end-of-semester tests, so next week is going to be busy. I'll try to update as much as possible~**

 **Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review xxx**


	2. it don't break even

SUMMARY: "When you don't know what do with life, just go with the flow and pray you won't mess up." Canon Izuku might successfully saved the world, but she can successfully save the world too while making some small changes right? Self-Insert, SI-as-Deku/Izuku, Fem!Deku/Fem!Izuku

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Boku no Hero Academia aka My Hero Academia, in any way or shape or form. The only things I own are Shizuka and my plots!

WARNINGS: Genderbent!Izuku (fem!Izuku), SI!Izuku. Also, some cussing because I'm a foul-mouthed person and just can't resist. And of course there's Bakugo's lovely vocabularies...

.

.

Chapter Two:

 _It Don't Break Even_

.

.

To everyone's surprise, I have gotten a whole lot more active since I could walk.

I had been so relieved my legs could finally function again that I just couldn't stop walking by myself. Always toddling everywhere, running around in an imaginary situation (hey, I was bored!), and generally just causing shenanigans in the household of Midoriya. Not even scrapes could stop me.

No one really minded this change though. As a baby, I knew I was unusually quiet and attentive. Babies love to cry and are curious about everything, but I wasn't. The way I behaved probably more resembled an adult. So the Midoriya couple didn't mind this — at all.

Since I was a year old, I've been taken out of the house a lot more. Apparently, Mama sometimes took me out when I was a baby, but I somehow was _always_ asleep. It embarrassed me, how insensitive I was considering my reincarnation status. However, it just proves that my body affects my maturity as well.

But since then, I always asked my parents to go outside more often. The first time have been _breathtaking_ and a great fresh air and overwhelming as well. The scenes, the surroundings, even the way the simplest things work. I've never been to Japan in Before, and this Japan must've been at least a bit different than it. I'd giggled at everything and there were so many things I saw and more things I didn't.

The world... It really is different from Before, but also very similar.

Japan's main street is crowded with people, and rarely did I saw a private automobile. Mostly, people are walking or riding a bike. The technologies are a bit more advanced — from what I'd observed — to the point of the creation of many unique weapons, but I hadn't seen much of it so I couldn't really tell.

 _What made it different are the people._

Antennas, wings, weird skin colours and rainbow hairs... It was all very normal in this world. It was an everyday thing that you couldn't get through a day without seeing one. I'd even seen a kid with the face of a lizard and a man with fingers he could elongated once. I shuddered; it was a rather scary experience.

This world of Quirks are naturally strange to me. In Before, everyone was as plain as plain-jane could be, it was that simple. I'm thankful for Mama and Papa for being _plain_. Brunette hair, cream skins, and normal eyes and body — the only thing that's not plain is Mama's black and green hair that I inherited.

I'd asked Mama before, about quirks. _'Why do we have Quirks Mama?'_ , _'How?'_ , and _'What are Quirks? What's yours and Papa's?'_

The little slur I made on "Quirks" had Mama laughing and cooing. Apparently, it was so adorable of her little daughter. Already three, and I still couldn't pronounced "r" properly.

 _"At first, there are no Quirks in this world, Shizu-chan. But then, all of a sudden, a baby is born with a Quirk. One that made him glow, I think. And then more and more people developed Quirks. A few are born with it, others got it at three to four years old."_

 _"Woaa... So we all have no Quirks?"_

 _"'We all didn't have Quirks', Shizu-chan. But yes. Those times are called "The Silver Age". But when Quirks are only recently appearing, other people started to protest and riot against those with Quirks."_

 _"Why? Quirks are amazing!"_

 _"Hmm, that it is. But remember this, Shizu-chan: Humans are afraid of the unknown. They shunned things that are different. And the time when Quirks aren't accepted, we call it "The Dark Time". There are lots of difficult things, even some threats of war, but those with Quirks managed to prove themselves."_

 _"How, Mama?"_

 _"Why, Shizu-chan, it was actually because of the appearances of villains."_

 _"The heroes save people?"_

 _"Yes. Those with Quirks become heroes in order to save the Quirkless. And then, with some progress and time, Quirks become a part of human society, and Heroes become a profession."_

 _"P-pofe-sion?"_

 _"A job, honey. Anyway, Quirks are these special powers you got when you enter kindergarten, and they're usually inherited from family, especially your parents. Mama can attract little metal things with a wave of my fingers — like this —"_

 _"Woaaahhh!_ _Sugoi!"_

 _"—while Papa could breathe small fires. I wonder what your Quirk will be, Shizu-chan!"_

 _"Ne, Mama_ _, does everyone have Quirks?"_

 _"No, actually. Only 80% have Quirks."_

 _"What about the rest?"_

 _"They don't have Quirks at all, Shizu-chan. We call them 'Quirkless'."_

 _"...So... What if I don't have a Quirk, Mama?"_

 _"It's okay, Shizu-chan. Even if you don't, Mama and Papa will still love you very much."_

And that was that.

I'd gotten the closure I seek from Mama's honest words and gentle smile, and knew that she'll keep her promise. Even though I'm Izuku — what with my gender — I still wasn't sure if I'm the replacement for him or not. He might be born later, but there were no ways to make sure.

But it was not the time to be thinking such things.

Papa was late to come home — and today wasn't the first time. Papa work at a big company as an inventor. He usually create new things — though what kind, he wouldn't tell me. He always go out at the morning and come home right before dinner, but it was already pass dinner time by an hour. The food is already prepared on the table, but Mama and I hadn't touched any. My stomach rumbled, but still I stubbornly wouldn't touch any of it. From Mama's amused look, she must've noticed.

Suddenly, the door opened.

It was Papa, walking in with his briefcase in one hand and a tired slump in his shoulders. He instantly looked up when I cheered and hug him tightly. "Shizuka?" He slowly stroked my hair. The surprise was a clear indication that he hadn't expected us to wait for him.

" _Okaeri_ , _Anata_."

"Ah... _Tadaima_ , Inko, Hime-chan."

Then they shared a kiss, squishing me between their bodies. I grimaced. _Ugh_ , this is so disgusting and embarrassing at once. However, I let out zero protests and resigned myself and tried my best not to block any evidence of their lewd activities. Ironic, since I wasn't really embarrassed of sex, Before. Guess having a complete set of parents did it for you.

At least Papa is home, and he's happy.

 _(If only I knew.)_

.

.

Third year brings a lot of happiness, but also a terrible sadness.

My parents took great care of me, and I was happy being coddled by them. As Cassiopeia, I have an amazing family, but often times I found myself being independent and a rock for my brother. I couldn't even remember my toddler years from Before, so my new life is great. Amazing, actually.

Until one source of my happiness went away.

Five months into my third year in this second life, a terrible news came in.

A friend and co-worker of Papa came into our house late at night, one leg bandaged heavily, and told us a grave news.

 _"I'm so sorry... Midoriya-san, your husband — Hisashi-san, he was... He was gone. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."_

Sobbing, he told us that there was an accident at work. A huge project they were working on had been messed up by a single accidental spill of a dangerous chemistry. The project, a big machine, had instantly went off like a bomb and made their building catch on fire. Lots of people died, but others managed to get out. The friend — Harazuko — had one leg stuck in one of the big remnants of the machine, but Papa saved him.

 _("No, no—" Mama denied to herself, she could see where this was going, "No, Hisashi—"_

 _She knew. But Harazuko kept going, because his guilt overwhelmed him and he couldn't stop, couldn't even calmed himself down.)_

Papa saved him at the cost of his own life.

Mama let out a tear or two when Harazuko finished, her hand automatically catching the sobbing man into her embrace as he fall. But despite his loud sobs and hiccups, her eyes were blank. Her green eyes are staring off to the open door, as if waiting for Papa to appear suddenly and tell that it was all a big joke.

When he didn't, Mama started to cry.

It wasn't like Harazuko's loud cries, instead Mama's are silent and supressed, and certainly as much as his, and much more sorrowful. She clearly didn't want me to see her looking like that.

The only thing it did was made my heart ached even harder.

 _(That day, the memories of Papa kept playing inside my head. His smile, his laugh, his attempt to made me call him, the way he would play with me and how he'd lifted me high and spun us..._

 _"Hime-chan!"_

 _They made it much worse.)_

.

.

For three days after that, I found myself kept glancing at the door, waiting for someone that I subconsciously knew would never come home again.

It was scary, the way his gaping hole of absence felt like. As if there was a Papa-sized hole on my heart. He felt like a bright light snuffed by the cruel wind, and his smoke remains forever in that place.

It made me depressed.

Mama noticed it, of course. Even through her own grief, she never forgot to take care of me. Acting as if there were nothing wrong. Except I heard her crying to sleep every night, the occasional snuffles when she suddenly remembered him, and the red eyes and trembling lips.

So I decided to be independent. I couldn't expect an easy life from now on, as Mama would've to work to support us both. I'd to start taking care of myself and not be a burden to her. She's got enough to take care of.

Even so, Mama said nothing to all of it.

But then, at the third night, Mama unexpectedly say something.

 _"Shizu-chan... Tomorrow we're going to have Papa's c-cremation."_

The cremation is... a funeral.

I've never gone to a funeral before, in this life. But in Before, I'd have to buried my third cousin that I considered my aunt. The process before burial took three days, as people came to see her lying lifelessly on the case. The door is transparent, so we could see her all dolled up and surrounded by flowers, hands holding a cross. The room smelt like flowers for dead people, and it was all I could smell for days after.

The cremation was just as horrible as that.

Instead of three days, we only did it one day. Mama and I along with some friends went to the cremation place where Papa's body went into one of the giant stone room that gave off heat and the scent of fire when opened. It was akin to an oven, and the thought of it made me hysterically cried.

We waited for what seemed like forever, and then one of the worker gave Mama a ceramic jars where inside laid Papa's ashes. Said jars was put in a table near the television, and next to it was Papa's smiling face inside a frame. On the other side of the picture, is a small plate that Mama put an apple at.

"Shizu-chan, look, it's Papa's little alter. You can put things for him that you want in this table, including food. You can also prayed for him in front of this table, too. Let's keep his memory alive, okay?"

" _Hai_ , Mama."

.

.

At three years old and six months, I was a pretty responsible daughter.

It was hard at first to be independent, especially because of my clumsy limbs, but I managed. Baths, washing the dishes, those simple things. I was practicing sweeping, but I hadn't managed to do it correctly yet. And well, if Mama wondered why some places have many dusts while others don't... ( _cough_ under the furnitures _cough_ ) well, I don't know anything.

Life had gotten hectic since Papa's gone. Two weeks ago, Mama had decided to move us into an apartment as she couldn't support us well if we continued living in our house. She sold it and took only the important things — furnitures being left behind.

The apartment was a lot smaller compared to our house. It only had a living room that are merged with the kitchen and dinner room, a terrace, one bathroom, and two rooms. It was pretty big for an apartment, I guess. At least Mama and I still could live comfortably, even if the building seemed suspicious at first.

From 8 in the morning until 5, Mama had to work as a senior secretary. Turns out, she was pretty amazing at her job before she was pregnant with me, and her old boss had recommended her to his friend that's just as high in place as him. And as I didn't want to be left with some shady nanny, I was taken to a nearby day care.

It was amazingly boring.

The kids are — _ugh_ — kids and I couldn't blend in. I wasn't as childish as them, and was uncomfortable with their brash or girly attitudes. As a result, they thought me weird and some even started to made fun of me.

Like now — when all I want was some sleep and peace.

"Hey, Shizuka, why're your hair two colours like tha'?"

Glancing around, I noted that my shield in the form of one of the carers had went off to take care of the bickering children on the other side of the room.

I looked up at him pointedly said, "Your hair is blue, and it's the shape of a _moon_."

He took it as well as a three year old kid did — as an insult. "Well, at least mine's not like — like — like a broccoli!"

"Wha?!" I gaped incredulously at the nerve of this kid. No one insults my hair like that!

"Yeah!" He's starting to look smug now, "And at least I have my daddy, unlike you, you stupid broccoli—"

Before he finished, I had kicked him on the stomach with all the energy I had. Sleep was the last thing on my mind now, and I didn't even care about the broccoli insult anymore.

I just... I was so done with it.

So I ran to the door, and out as far as I can from the day care.

I pretended as if the day care was the world, that by running, every single problems I had would disappear.

 _I just... I was so_ _fucking done._

I was done with that stupid kid whose name I don't even know and his stupid insults. Done with the day care, with my mom who I felt was getting farther from me. I was done being responsible, done with hearing my mom crying to herself nearly every night.

 _I was_ _done with myself, done with crying and sorrow and everything—!_

I punched a tree with my fist, wincing at a painful throb on said fist. And then I looked around, having realized that I'd run into the private forest near one of the park on my new house's building. I didn't even realized I'd ran this far. Exhaustion set in, and I found myself falling to my butt.

I tucked my knees in front of my chest and hugged it, trying to dispelled the sudden feeling of loneliness I got. If anything, it just made my eyes teary.

"Stupid reincarnation..." I whispered in the cover of yellow leafs. "I wished I was back with Dad... And Daniel... That crybaby, is he crying now?"

 _Is this how he feels after I die?_

With a sniff, I wiped the fallen tears with the back of my sleeve, trying to stop crying. Must've been Mama's or Papa's genes, since I wasn't an overly emotional person Before.

Just as I was about to cry again, a voice from behind me made me jump in fright.

"Are you crying?"

I put a hand on my chest, trying to calm the sudden rise of heatbeat. Once I was calm enough to think straight, anger rushed inside me and I turned around, ready to yell at him. How dare this little kid...!

...It was... Bakugo Katsuki.

Even though he was a bit younger than his four year self, I'd still recognized him right away. Those ash-blonde tuffs that sticks out everywhere, and the red eyes and smug grin on his face...

 _Is he_ laughing _at me?_

"No, I'm not!" Hastily, I wiped my eyes to rid of the tears that'd gathered there.

"You are!"

 _Wha... This kid is pointing his finger at me!_

"Shuddup!" I barked, my face blushed slightly at the embarrassment. How does Bakugo be so frustrating even at three years old?!

"Why were you muttering to yourself?" A curious glint appeared on his eyes. "You're not crazy are you?"

 _This kid...!!!!_ Just when I thought he maybe wasn't as annoying as I thought, he'd gone and destroyed it. I swear, with how angry I was, I could feel a vein popped out on my forehead. Worse, Bakugo wasn't affected any bit by my glares.

"No, I'm _not._ "

 _Just leave me alone already!_

"Good," The grin was back on his face, but it was more genuine now. "'Cause I don't want to be friend with a crazy! I'm Bakugo Katsuki, nice to meet you!"

 _I. Am. Absolutely. Bewildered._

I didn't understand what this kid was thinking. One second he insulted me, the next he's saying he wanted to be my friend! How does his brain even worked?

"Right..." I replied unsurely when I noticed he was waiting for my answer. "Um, my name is Midoriya Shizuka, I guess."

" _Ha?_ You don't know your name? Are you stupid or what?"

 _I swear I'm going to kill him!!_

.

.

 **NEXT CHAPTER: QUIRKS AND A DYING PERSON.**

 **See, I managed to update! *proud grin here***

 **Anyway, I hope you're satisfied with this. Let's hope next chapter there'll be a lot of Katsu/Shizu interaction, because Katsu is hard to write :(**

 **See ya! xxx**


	3. waiting for superman

**SUMMARY:** "When you don't know what do with life, just go with the flow and pray you won't mess up." Canon Izuku might successfully saved the world, but she can successfully save the world too while making some small changes right? Self-Insert, SI-as-Deku/Izuku, Fem!Deku/Fem!Izuku

 **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Boku no Hero Academia aka My Hero Academia, in any way or shape or form. The only things I own are Shizuka and my plots!

 **WARNINGS:** Genderbent!Izuku (fem!Izuku), SI!Izuku. Also, some cussing because I'm a foul-mouthed person and just can't resist. And of course there's Bakugo's lovely vocabularies...

 **YES, I AM** **IN THE PROCESS OF REWRITING SKYSCRAPER.**

 **I decided that because I realized how bad my writing was before. I know some of you migmight not want to read this new version, and I'm totally okay with you deleting this from your library. But thank you for those who stick by. I hope I make it clear.**

 **Kaiya Azure:** To be honest, I sort of considering that as well! Katsuki can be a little infuriating and a brat isn't he? Shizuka is a pretty patient person tho, so crisis averted. Katsuki has a good memory so he likely won't forget it, especially since it's kinda an insult to him.

 **Galarvis:** Sorry for the incredibly late response! As you'll find from this chapter, Shizuka kinda just play along with the plot. She'll slowly realize that she's her own person, and can decide her own storyline. So in the future she'll follow her heart and do what she think is right, regardless of the Canon. So yes, this'll turn into an AU soon. Like, real soon.

.

.

Chapter Three:

 _Waiting for Superman_

.

.

Sometimes, things aren't always easy for me.

I'm not always the carefree girl who's got a devil-may-care attitude on her. I'm not always easygoing, or serene, or kind. I'm a human too, I have my limits. And sometimes, something went pass that limit — unconsciously or not. Even the smallest thing could trigger me in a bad day.

And that day, it was a bad day.

It was a month after that runaway I did, and Mama was very worried for me. I felt bad that I was glad I got to spend the rest of the day with her. She had been working so hard even at home, that she didn't have time for me. We went to have some ice cream and eat outside. It was an amazing night.

But I suppose it had spoiled me. I started to think Mama would started to have time for me, but of course I was wrong. A month after, and she was as busy as always. I wanted to be angry to her, but I wasn't that stupid. I knew she worked hard for me, saw her eyebags and tired body. All the guilt just built up and I started to blame myself.

 _How can I be angry at her? After all her hardwork for me?! She's still grieving — she'll never stop — and she has done so much for me!! Why? Why did I even be angry at her?! I should be glad for everything._

All the dark thoughts are clouding my head, and I felt numb. Like I was in a never-ending abyss — couldn't see what's around me, just floating for a very long time. I couldn't even feel anything, couldn't _let_ myself feel anything. It was my coping mechanism since Before, and I knew it wasn't healthy, but I didn't know what else to do.

I just feel so, so _tired._ So useless, and a burden. I didn't know what to do. God, why was I reborn again?

"Shi-chan, what are you doing?"

The voice jolted me out from my dark thoughts. I looked up to ruby eyes staring at me, the intensity in his childish face startled me. How can someone so little be so smart, so observing? The intelligence in his eyes that I hadn't noticed before now shone brightly.

Realizing I hadn't answered his question, I looked down to my hand to saw that it had moved on it's own while I was wallowing in thought. My previously decent (for a three years old) drawing has turned into an incorrigible one. It was so horrible I felt my frustration increasing. Obviously, Bakugo's observant nature once again showed.

"Woah, that's a stupid drawing!"

I swore the pencil in my hand snapped in two at that comment. Bakugo might be observant, but that never stopped his running mouth. He definitely know which button to push.

Just as I was reminding myself that murder is _indeed_ a crime, I felt a body slightly bigger than mine invading my space, clumsily dropping himself next to me and nearly pushing me out the chair in the process. I caught myself in time, and went to yell at him—

My voice faltered before it even went out.

Next to me, is a boy who's head is so close to the table his blond hair nearly touched it. In his small hands are crayons he had carefully picked. His ruby eyes that I found intimidating was so focused to the drawing he's determinedly fixing. His eyebrows furrowed a bit, painting him in an adorable way.

I felt my anger deflating, and logic returning to my brain.

Ever since meeting him, I'd been so harsh and inconsiderate to him. I'd closed off from him, even though he always tried his hardest to befriended me. I'd treated him like he didn't — doesn't — deserve, and still he helped me. I just... I was so scared, so determined not to be bullied by him like Izuku had been. I thought the first step was not to be his friend, so I tried to fend him off.

 _I'd been living in my fear the whole time._

Who's to say I'll be like Izuku? I'm _not_ Izuku. I'm not analytical, or naive, or friendly like him. I'm just... Shizuka. I'm _me_. And well, one thing about me is that I get attached easily. The whole time, I was just denying my growing affection for Bakugo.

And God, he was just a kid.

He was insecure and crave others' attention just like every kid does. That's why he hated Izuku, because he felt belittled by him. Even at Yuuei, he was only a teenager — he was entitled to be ridiculously immature.

I _knew_ this from Before. Bakugo had been my favorite character — his development is amazing. But in my childish fear and attempt to protect my heart, I buried it deep inside my head. I guessed I was a child after all; no matter the fact that I'd lived once before.

"Look, Shi-chan, this is how you draw good!" He pointed to the drawing that was now full of yellow and red and green, the dull black and blue nearly covered. Behind his proud and excited expression, I could see the insecurity and fear of rejection. He made a perfect puppy eyes.

 _How could I be so mean to him again?_

"Yeah, it's amazing... Kacchan." I smiled at him, all teeth to show my gratitude. Unknowingly, he had dragged me out of the abyss I frequently fall into, and lead me to the light. "Thank you so much, Hero."

He is one of my heroes, after all.

.

.

Time flies much quicker when you're in school.

Kacchan and I had attended kindergarten weeks ago, and things had gotten better. Mama still wasn't home often, but she had started to adjust that she wasn't overwhelmed any longer. I had met Kacchan's parents — Mitsuki and Masaru — and we got along splendidly. They thought I was a good influence for their excitable and short-tempered son, and I found my aunt and uncle figures within them. I even often visited their house when Mama got home late... which is increasing.

Kacchan made his debut in kindergarten by always taking number one. Number one most good behaved kid, number one in rank, number one in confidence and friendly personality and everything else. He's even the tidiest kid in the grade, tied with me.

I, however, had a little less flair debut. I was known as a calm and intelligent kid; unusual. I tied in ranked one with Kacchan, but I'm not friendly like him. I didn't want to make friends with children, so I made no effort. I only tried to be friendly when they did it first, so everyone learned to leave me alone. I was always with Kacchan and vice versa, that adults thought us cute. The female teacher — Momoka-sensei — even said we're Best Friends Forever aka BFF.

 _Ew,_ do they even use that word still?

Thankfully, Kacchan felt the same way as me. We started to discreetly avoided Momoka-sensei in fear of being called even more disgusting things. I might like it Before, but I definitely did not now.

Anyway, because of Kacchan's friendly and energetic deposition, he'd got tons of friends. Everyone wanted to be his friends — he easily became the most famous kid in kindergarten. I wasn't even surprised, honestly — Kacchan's always got a charm in him that no one had. But even then, he sticked by me. He never even once forget about little old me.

It made me love him even more.

Regardless, Kacchan had his own circle of close friends beside me — who he dubbed _his only best friend and I better be yours too, Shi-chan!_ His close friends included Asahi Kato, a mild-mannered boy with grey eyes, Yuzashi Goro, a fat boy with bald head and big red wings (he's one of the first to manifested a Quirk), and Hamada Yuma, a thin boy with sharp features.

I didn't mind them, really I didn't, but Kacchan became meaner when he was with them. Kato I'm okay with, but Goro and Yuma are nasty kids that thought themselves bigger than others. They never outright say it, but I could see it from the way they acted.

"This is easy!" Kacchan voiced. He was juggling a soccer ball with both his foot without dropping it once. Kato had challenged him after seeing it on the TV last night. Of course, Kacchan being Kacchan didn't turn down the challenge and instead his natural instinct made him succeed.

"Woah, _sugoi_ Katsuki, you can do anything!" Kato-kun praised. Goro and Yuma echoed with the same grins on their faces.

"Shi-chan!" Kacchan turned to me. He'd noticed I was silent, and with a proud grin wandered off to me with the ball held in his hand. "Did you see? I was like a Pro footballer!"

I giggled, "Yeah, you're cool, Kacchan. But I think that was still far from a Pro."

He pouted, "Well, what about you? Can you do it?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, taking the ball from his hand. I hadn't played football since I was a somophore in Before, so I was rusty. But the ball bounced good enough in my feets before dropping to the ground. I hadn't done it as long as Kacchan managed to, but the rest had cheered on me anyway. I ignored the whispers of how I wasn't as good as Kacchan, and instead focusing on my best friend's proud grin. The grin was so sincere I couldn't help but returned my own to him.

"You _are_ as amazing as me, Shi-chan!"

"Someone need to keep up with you Kacchan."

.

.

Kacchan and I went home together, as our houses are in the same direction.

"Shi-chan, are you coming to my house today?" He inquired, his eyes taking in our surroundings. The street we took were full of shops that half of them I never even entered.

I shook my head no, as Mama said she wasn't going to be late today, but found Kacchan's interest wasn't on me anymore. His ruby red eyes are focused to the big tv in the display glass next to him. It was showing All Might, the number one hero, surrounded by four villains as big as him. Predictably, he beat the villains quickly as if it wasn't hard at all. All Might didn't even get scathed.

"All Might's amazing, isn't he?" Kacchan said, "He's the number one hero. He always win no matter what. I want to be a hero like him, Shi-chan... I want to never lose like him. That's why, I'll defeat everyone including All Might, and become the number one hero!"

He stared at his best friend's green eyes, trying to discern the emotions in them. He always loved her eyes — they shines brightly like she does, and showed her emotions clearly. That's why he willed himself to looked at her straight.

Will she ridicule him? Or will she lie and said she believe in him?

 _"Katsuki-kun kind of look like a villain, isn't he?"_

 _"Katsuki fits better as a villain, not a hero!"_

 _Why? Why did they say I'm a villain? That's not true! Just because I have red eyes and sharp teeth... doesn't mean I'm a villain, right? Yeah, they're probably just amazed at me. Amazed, or afraid? But why did they all say that? Stop it, stop, stop, stop! I'm not a villain. I want to be a hero! I want to be like All Might, I want to be the number one so no one can say I'm bad and a villain anymore. Stop doubting me. Why can't they believe me? Why did they laugh?! I'm going to be a hero, not a villain. Stop saying I'm a villain... Believe in me, why won't they believe in me? I'm worth looking at, I'm worthy of being a hero. I'm strong enough. I'm not a villain, never a villain! I'll make them believe in me, I'll make them **see me** , even if I have to force them all—!_

"Out of everyone, I think if anyone can beat All Might it'll be you, Kacchan."

The sincere voice snapped him out of his dark thoughts. The doubts, the laugh in their eyes, the disbeliefs and the ridicules... Everything faded in front of Midoriya Shizuka. The memories were no more, instead it was his best friend in front of him, giving her soft smile to him that always made his heart beat faster in a good way. Her smiles always managed to encouraged him to be better, to push himself more — and on the occasion, it made him remember the warmth of the sun upon his skin.

 _She's sun... My sunshine._

"I want to be a hero too, Kacchan. Can we be heroes together?" She asked.

"Of course! We'll be the bestest of the bests!"

"But I'm not going to be a sidekick — I'm going to be a _hero_." She said again.

"I know." He grinned. After all, his equal couldn't be less than a hero!

He couldn't wait to see the days they finally made it as heroes.

.

.

The day Kacchan got his Quirk, everything started to change.

Three days after his birthday, his Quirk suddenly manifested when we were playing on our play time in the kindergarten. His palms just suddenly started letting out small exploding sounds that surprised everyone. Before they realized it was his Quirk though, I practically ran to him.

"Woah, it sounds like fireworks, Kacchan." I told him, grinning ecstatically. It's amazing, that he finally got his Quirk. Kacchan had been waiting for this after all. "But don't get too cocky, I'm going to catch up to you soon enough!"

"I know, Shi-chan! I can't wait to see your Quirk!" His attention was quickly taken by the others who had realized it.

"Amazing, Katsuki-kun!"

"Lucky~"

"Wow, that's an amazing Quirk!" Yamazashi-sensei praised.

"It really is! It's a flashy Quirk just right for a hero, right, Katsuki-kun?" Momoka-sensei smiled.

 _No, stop feeding his ego!_

I could remember the thoughts Kacchan had from the Canon. _"No one is as amazing as me!"_ That's what he thought.

Thankfully, the Kacchan I know didn't seem to think like that. He was grinning widely at the praises, but he had turned his head to me even when he was surrounded by the attention he craved. The challenging fire in his eyes said everything he didn't.

 _Challenge accepted._

.

.

The day after, in Saturday morning, Mama and I went to the hospital for a booked meeting with a Quirk specialist.

Everything were so unreal, as if I was playing my own life as a game (not that that wasn't far from the reality), unseeing instead of seeing. But now, standing in front of the Quirk doctor — my heart beating so loudly it might beat the doctor's voice — it felt so surreal. I was really _really_ going to find out... whether I was Izuku's replacement, or my own person.

Will I get the same fate as his?

...Quirkless, friendless, bullied...

But no matter how hard I prayed, my prayers still went unanswered.

"I'm sorry, but you should probably give it up."

 _Thump. Thump._ The sound of my heartbeats were as loud as a lion's roar. It was slowly drowning out the doctor's voice, and the reality that I lived in started to sharpened in edges.

"Normally, by the age of four, she would've manifested one of her parents' Quirks or the combination of the two. As she was still three years old, there should be plenty of time. But by looking at this toe joint, the probability is very small. Everyone who have Quirks. . . . . ."

I couldn't even hear anymore. The reality is punching me on the stomach, _hard._

I'm not going to have a Quirk.

I'm just Izuku's replacement...

I'm just... _him._

"E-excuse me, I-I need to go to the toilet." Without waiting for an answer, I slipped through the door and ran like a cheetah was chasing me. The tears had blurred my eyes and I could careless of where I was going. People parted from me as I went by, closing myself in the elevator until it opened by itself and then ran out again. If I wasn't so wrecked, I'd noticed how silent and empty the floor was. But I could only hear my heartbeat and dark thoughts.

Finally ran out of breath, I looked up to find myself in front of a door. There was nothing special in the door... except there was no nameplate next to it.

In my hopelessness and angst, curiosity win the best of me and I opened the locked door with my bobby pins slowly. The door made no sound, and I heard no sound from the inside so I assumed there was no one.

Instead, I found the biggest room in a hospital with one single patient lying inside.

He was hooked with tubes and machines from his head to his leg. Bandages covered his neck, hands, and leg. The rest was full of bruises and cuts that were healing. His heartbeat machine was echoing his heart in the silent room, giving a foreboding sense. The red mane of his laid limp around his head.

"What...?" I said softly to the still space. "What happened to you?"

 _You looked like you're ready to give up._ I thought, not daring to say it out loud. The feet of his bed said that he had been here for two weeks, and that his name is... _Enji? Where'd I heard that name before?_

After a bit of consideration, I moved my feet to stand next to his bed, my hand touching his wound-littered face as soft as I could manage.

"Don't give up." I whispered, "It's okay to be tired once in a while, but don't give up. Keep fighting, okay?"

The man gave no indication of hearing me, but I continued anyway. "I'll visit as much as I can, so you better get better, Enji. I'll see you next week, alright."

Somehow, seeing this big man laying lifelessly in the bad, chained with machines as if he couldn't live without them anymore, filled me with a sense of purpose. I might be dramatic, but I swore my senses felt like it was rekindled again. As if he lit a fire inside the dying candle that was my heart.

Such a strange thing, feelings.

And if I'd looked back, I'd seen the man watching me with clouded emotions, his mint green eyes flashing brilliantly even in his pain.

.

.

 **THANK YOU FOR 200 FOLLOWS~**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: ENJI**

 **Oho! Enji? Who's Enji?** **A lil spoiler: in the next chapter, Canon will slip to Hell and AU reigns.**

 **Also, Shizuka's a bit insecure and have an identity crisis and Kacchan actually had a bit of trauma from people calling him a villain. They still stick together though, but after Kacchan found out about Shizuka's Quirkless status is a different matter...**

 **Don't forget to favorite, follow, and comments! xxx**

 **p.s. Check out my other BnHA ff, _Trouble with A Capital T._ It's an OC story with Katsuki/OC pairing.**


	4. down, down the rabbit hole

**DannyPanthom619:** You're right~ Shizuka's experiences will be different than Izuku's, some aspects more than others. Some might be the same, though. Shizuka's also still in the growing process. She's only three years old, and her view and thoughts will unconsciously minicked those around her eventually. Even if she's a reincarnation, she's still in the body and brain of a little kid who's impressionable.

 **wildtrance:** Of course, to Katsu Shizuka's a precious person. He literally calls her "his equal", so of course he'll protect her even though she doesn't need it. But by this he's placing her _below_ him, not an equal. Shizuka will rectify that soon, don't worry. And _Sunshine Incarcerate?_ That's priceless! I like it! Maybe she'll actually have a Quirk like that hehe ;)

 **Guest00197:** Wow, high praise! Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoy this! And though the AU isn't showing much in this chapter — YES, MAY THE PLOT GODS GIFT US WITH THE IMPOSSIBLY AMAZING IDEAS AND STORIES~

 **Phantom Aficionado:** Thank you, I'm glad you like my story. Shizuka is currently still struggling with the Fem!Izuku thing, but I'll address that issue soon! And about the protagonist, well, that's less of a role and more a destiny. Shizu's already set as the protagonist, but the All for One problem is something that isn't coming for at least 3 chapters more. So please just sit tight and enjoy the ride XD.

.

.

.

 **iv.** _Down, Down the Rabbit Hole_

.

.

.

"What do you mean you were sick?"

I gave him a blank stare. "That's exactly what I meant."

Kacchan gave me a suspicious look that made me pretty miffed; when'd this brat became so untrusting to me? "So the last two days you were sick?"

"Yeah," I told him, "I was feeling a bit under the weather." Unmentioned was the little trip Mama and I took to the hospital.

 _"I'm sorry."_

Kacchan stared at me for a few seconds, before apparently deciding that I was saying the truth and nodded his head. The excited spark was back in his eyes. "Whatever. Shi, look what I can do now!"

Without waiting for my answer, he raised his hand in front of him, brows furrowed in concentration. The glare he was shooting could've burned his own hands with their sharpness.And then realization hit me. _Is he... Trying to activate his Quirk?_

Last week, after he first activated his Quirk, he hadn't managed to do it again. No matter how hard he concentrated or how angry he got, the explosions still wouldn't appeared.

 _But now_ , I mused, _it's different._

There, in his sweaty palms, were the smallest of sparks. They appeared and went in less than three seconds, so brief and little but they were there nonetheless. And if Kacchan's tired huff is any indication, it was because he'd worked _hard_ for it. It was something earned, and I remembered a saying from Before:

 _No pain, no gain._

"Good job, Kacchan." I gave a genuine smile, heart warmed. His huge smile turned into something else — eyes crinkled, dimples showing slightly, and his red eyes seemed to shone brighter than ever.

Kacchan was smiling in happiness and pride.

And if he shouted and cursed at my flying hug, well, I knew he didn't mean any of it.

I was _so proud_ at him.

The figure of a looming boy, with fire in his eyes and strength in his grin and conviction in every steps he takes... He was shaping up nicely at the form of the blushing boy in my embrace.

.

.

Enji is a good hero.

He is one of the best there ever is. He specialized in combat and cities, and always makes sure he did a quick work of the villains. Time is precious, and no one wanted him to make a bigger wreck of the surroundings than there was. That's fine, that's logical and acceptable and Enji acknowledges that his Quirk is potent and dangerous. So Enji always made sure he was only in one place for no more than necessary, and the next second he was already moving to the next place that needed a hero.

But what's not acceptable is his _defeat._

Ever since he was a little boy, no more older than 9, he aspired to be the No. 1 hero. He wants to be above everyone else, so that no one would be able to belittle or underestimate him. He wanted to make a name for himself, wanted the whole world to fear and adored him at the same time. _He wanted to be The Hero._

But instead, just as he was rising on the rank, a new figure appeared. In a ridiculous Silver Age costume, the figure blazed in to rescue more than a hundred civilians stucked in the burning city, with ease as if it wasn't any problem. He was smiling, _laughing,_ like the other heroes hadn't tried and _failed_ — even _him_ — to do so. As if the mysterious enemy wasn't strong at all, and though their fight was intense and dragging, he emerged victorious and still grinned afterwards as if he wasn't exhausted at all.

 _All Might._ They called him The Victorious Hero, and they predicted he'll become no. 1 in no time. And they were right.

Not only he became no. 1, he's also the Symbol of Peace. And it had been nearly a decade since then, and Enji was still stuck beneath All Might. Always the No. 2, never the priority, never the best.

The hero name he was convinced the people would looked up to, became a name he loathed and felt indifferent at once.

 _Endeavor. The Flaming Hero._

The number two. The second.

He doesn't understand. _Why? Why him? Why does All Might have to be No. 1?_ Every single year the ranking is counted, All Might's name is always on the very top, with golden crowns and massive applause and everything _Enji_ wanted more than anything else. But everytime, All Might never failed to look surprised, and was always flustered and uncomfortable at the attention _so why **him**._

( _Deep inside, he knew why. All Might's always so bright and pure and everything good, even though he's not good at socializing, but he truly cares for everything. His smile, even at the worst situation, never failed to pick others' up. They give the will to fight, to not give up. Everyone know All Might will never let them down. Enji knows._ )

Regardless of all his hard work, Enji never made it as No. 1. And it's not just because of the bumbling fool that is All Might, but because of the peers and people. The vote of the rank is always on their hands, and they never chose him.

Even though Enji's Quirk, Hellfire, is amazing, even though he now have more than 50 sidekicks and more fighting for the position, even though the people always thanked him after a job done well—

Enji doesn't understand giving up. But he does understand searching for another way.

If Enji couldn't beat All Might, then at least he'll make someone does. Someone of his own blood, under his tutelage, that bring his convictions and mind with them every step they take.

It's only logical to have kids.

So he searched for women who have amazing and potent Quirks, something suitable with his own. And he found her, coming from a middle-class family that was threatening into bankruptcy, with a Quirk that enable her to generate ice as much as she wants.

 _Mizuno_ _Rei._ And with a little bribe of money, she soon became Todoroki Rei. And then, as per their contract, they have kids. Four of them, now, as the last three wasn't what he'd hoped, but Shoto's split appearance might indicate an inheritance of both fire and ice.

So Enji was quite happy with the life he has now. Everyone in the house knows he's the head, no one dared to go against his word except for the rare stunt Hitomi sometimes pulled. A bit of discipline, and everything went as it should be.

And of course, that was the moment Endeavor falls.

A strong villain with a poor match of his Quirk, and Endeavor was set to knock him out with some burns, but his partner who was supposed to be unconscious had waken up at the last seconds and Endeavor was hit. A painful use of his Quirks and a pair of unconscious villains later, Endeavor hit the floor.

He stayed in the peaceful feeling of nothingness for who knows how long. For a little while, there was nothing. Some snippets of conversations of the doctors and nurses, but nothing else. It was peaceful. It was also _too_ quiet and unsettling. And yet Enji couldn't find the courage to wake up. The nothingness felt too comforting.

What happened to the world while he was gone? He wondered. What happened to the compound? What about his rank, his status, the villains he caught?

He realized, then, no one actually really needed him. The world has All Might and other heroes, and his household doesn't really need him to stay that way. He was just a shadow figure, just _there_ , being the Head and no. 2 because someone have to. If it wasn't him, someone else could've done it.

 _"Don't give up."_

In the confine of his mind, the voice echoed and snapped him. It felt like waking up, as if he was drowsing before.

 _"Don't give up. Keep fighting."_

Enji struggled to open his eyes. He's tired of this, he wants to be awake and do _something_ and find it those bastard villains are imprisoned yet.

When he finally opened his eyes, it was to the sight of a curly hair slipping away through the door. The quiet click indicated she locked the door, and all was silent once again.

Enji fell into an exhausted sleep once again.

.

.

"Who are you?"

The voice startled me so bad it made me jump and turned around. In the bed, fully awake, was the stoic figure of the fragile man I saw a week ago. His green eyes stared daggers at me, and I felt very much like a caught thief. I wasn't, though, so I tried to shove the humiliated blush off and said the first thing in my mind:

"Have you showered?"

By the frown he was sending me, I could tell he didn't appreciate my smart mouth. I didn't meant to say that, as I was usually a rather polite person, but I feigned a nonchalant attitude.

 _He's intimidating_ _and I can tell he's used to get what he want, but I can't let that get to me._

"I mean, um, how are you? My name is Midoriya Shizuka by the way." I tried to smile, but it fell quick at the sight of his deepening frown.

"You're not supposed to be here."

A sentence of disapproval tone, and I froze up. What... did that suppose to mean? Here, where? This world — this universe? _Did he somehow know about my rebirth thing? Maybe it's his Quirk?!?_

He raised an eyebrow (while still frowning. I didn't know how he did that, but mind you, frowning is looking up to be his specialty) at my silently panicking form, "How did you manage to sneaks in? The door is always locked and only two people have the key. One is currently looking at you."

 _Oh, phew. Crisis averted._ "I picked the lock," I showed him my trusty booby pins, smiling innocently in the way that always irked Kacchan. Instead, the man seemed curious and disgruntled at the same time.

"Enji-san, aren't you supposed to be in a coma?" I asked, discreetly searching his person for indications. His face was free of blemishes and even the breathing mask wasn't there anymore. The casts around his leg and hands also seemed to be thinning. He didn't look like he was just in a coma, not that I know what it looked like.

 _How'd he be able to heal so much in_ _a week?_ I wondered.

"How do you know my name?" The green eyes sharpened, and his voice was akin to a bark with how demanding it was.

"I read."

"So you've been here before." He concluded with a strange glint in his eyes.

"Ah... Um, I-I was just l-lost...?" The meek reason disappeared under the bloodlust grin he gave me.

"You dare to sneak into a place obviously private and locked, not once, but _twice_. And who knows how many times you've done it with me sleeping?" I cowered now. "I could've charged you with prison for at least a year."

"W-w-waaah! Please don't, Enji-san — _Enji-sama_!" I waved my hands around me in a frightful gestures. "I didn't mean anything bad, I swear! I-I'll do anything—"

" _Anything_?"

The frightening grin was back.

Oh no, Shizuka, what'd you gotten yourself into?

.

.

I didn't get to found out what he meant by _anything_ , as we were caught by a nurse. The nurse was just doing her regular check-up, and surprised — _what an understatement_ — to find me there. She'd inquired how I get in, and even scolded me, but Enji had stopped her by saying that he allowed me to. And to tell the receptionist to add "Midoriya Shizuka" under those with the permission to visit him.

At that, the nurse had given Enji a strange look, as if wondering _how and why this little girl_ but clamped her mouth shut. Instead, she did the check up without another word, almost as if she was respectful or fearful toward Enji. Said man paid her no mind, instead saying that he expected me to be back an hour earlier tomorrow. The clear dismissal had me riled up but the clear threatening gleam in his eyes reminded me.

I had no way of knowing if he was right, and if he didn't, well, didn't he looked rich? He could just bribed the police if he wanted to. Even the nurse seemed respectful to him.

 _W_ _ho's evil enough to send a three years old kid into a prison for a year and possibly more?_

Enji, that's who.

When I arrived home, the sun was already setting.

The street was shining with shadows of burnt orange and fading red from the sky. It was beautiful, but a reminder that I was late. And true, when I got home, Mama was already waiting at the door.

"Shizuka-chan! Where've you been?" She fretted, hugging me for a second before wringing her hands worriedly. I appreciated her worries, I really do, but I knew it was all because of my newly found Quirkless status. She felt guilty, as if it was all her fault. My reassuances that it wasn't went unheard.

But I also knew that this was her way of reconnecting with me. She was trying her best, and it would be unfair of me if I denied her that. Beside, I knew I was starved of parental attention anyway. So I relished it all with a tired smile. Walking six blocks to the hospital and then five blocks back was tiring to my little body. Sometimes I forgot how young I was now.

"I was just playing with Kacchan, Mama. I forgot the time, sorry." I quietly said, taking off my jacket.

"Oh..." The relieved sigh clenched my heart. I smiled, feeling guilty that I made her worry so much. She brightened quickly though. "Do you want to take a bath first or dinner? I made a Katsudon, Shizu-chan." She smiled, looking excited.

"Can I have a bath first, Mama?"

"Of course! Ah, do you us to have a bath together, honey? I missed our little bath, you know."

No need to say, I zipped out there faster than I'd ever run before.

.

.

.

 **Thank you for reading~**

 **For those also readers of Trouble With A Capital T, I wanted to say that I don't know when I'll update next. Honestly, I'm focusing on Skyscraper first, as I wanted to catch up to the chapters (at least until chapter 6), and I owed you guys so much. You've stuck with me even though this is my first story and I'm a shitty writer. So I promise I'll try my best. Trouble might get an update in-between, but only if inspiration hit me hard.**

 **Please reviews and comments, because those are my inspiration and motivation for writing. I'll see you soon xxx**


	5. you're running around & i'm running away

.

.

 **v.** _you're running around and i'm running away_

.

.

"That's _so_ cool, Katsuki!" Yuma grinned, sharp teeth shown.

Bakugo Katsuki smirked smugly, inhaling all the praises that were recently coming more and more for him. Ever since his Quirk showing a few weeks ago, people had liked him more than before. The other children in the kindergarten even followed him around, just like his three new friends — Yuma, Kato, and Goro. Lately his days were spend with them, walking around the blocks and playing until sunset. And each time he did something amazing —something none of them could do as good as him— he was praised.

Life had never been this good.

No, stratch that—

 _It_ _had been better,_ Katsuki frowned, _it was better with Shi, no matter how many times I got praised. Shi-chan's company is still better than anyone else's._

With a scowl, Katsuki wondered for the million time where his best friend was. This hadn't been the first time she was missing in their adventures. Lately, she was acting weird and making excuses to miss out their outings. A few days after he got his Quirk, she even lied to him about her being sick.

Of course Katsuki knew when she was lying. He was her _best friend_ , after all. He knew her better than anyone else.

Something was going on, and it irked him badly that she didn't tell him what.

Katsuki swallowed the bitterness rising in his chest.

"Katsuki-kun," Kato called as he played around with a pebble, "Where's Shizuka-chan? She rarely play with us anymore."

He grunted in reply.

"Ne, I bet she got new friends already." Goro said casually.

Katsuki's eyebrow twitched, an indication that he was starting to get irritated.

"Maybe she's playing with them and she's too busy for us anymore." Yuma suggested, not feeling any sadness at his own suggestion.

Midoriya Shizuka had always been more of Katsuki's friend and the other three's acquaintance — they were not close in the slightest. He got annoyed by her sometimes, even, and he knew that Goro and maybe Kato felt the same way. Whenever she was with them, she always stole Katsuki's attention, and away from any fun stuff. And everyone _knew_ how Katsuki and her always stuck together, that even he preferred her than Yuma, Goro, and Kato. Why, no one knew.

She's a _girl_ , and girls and boys didn't mix together.

Clearly, Katsuki didn't agree.

Because he quickly stood up to Shizuka, anger started to creep on his brain at the unintended insult of his and Shizuka's friendship (bestfriendship).

"Shut up!" He barked, "She's just not feeling well, that's all! Stop talking about her like that, _you understand_?"

The other three gulped and nodded obediently. Katsuki started to think of them as goons, and not friends. Really, they reminded him of the submissive servants on the movies.

The itchy feeling in the back of his heart remained.

.

.

I swore up and down as I was forced to go to the hospital _again._

It was my sixth time to the blasted hospital (not counting my Quirk appointment) and I was _so_ done already. The reason why I was swearing so heavily if a sailor heard he would've been impressed, and was reluctantly walking to the white building right after kindergarten let out—?

The _debt._ As in, the "anything" I owed to a certain red-haired rich man in return of his 'leniency' on me breaking into his very private hospital room while he was and wasn't sleeping. Yes, that cursed debt and my cursed mouth and the _fuc—_ I mean, _fudging_ cursed six-blocks-away hospital.

The debt turned out to be me doing _everything_ **_he_** demanded. Even if it included going there nearly everyday, at 2 pm and not a second late.

Whenever I arrived at the hospital, he didn't actually demand outrageous things I'd dreaded he would. Instead, all he ask were some preferred foods and drinks from the canteen, and I suspected my company. It must got lonely in that big, big room. And he never failed to do it every time.

Hey, in my defense, he looked every part of a rich man used to everything handed to him in a golden platter.

Still, he was thoroughly an _asshole._

There was just no better word. He kept teasing and annoying me even though he was still attached to an IV and couldn't move that much.

 _"You certainly looked every part a two years old."_

 _"Can you take my food from the canteen without sweating, **Ojou-sama**?"_

 _"Such a **chibi**. Your height truly fits."_

On and on and on. _Ugh_. Somehow he always succeded making me mad! And I swore, he was a sadist. Once after he teased me, I saw a small _evil_ smirk on his lips that was gone when I blink not a second later. But that wasn't my imagination! I really saw it!

 _That man... Enji..._ I whimpered inwardly when I finally reached the front of the hospital. _What did I do wrong to God to deserve this cruel fate?_

 _I was such a cute kid, too._

I pouted, slumping when I felt the amused glances the nurses sent me. After the third of fourth visits, the majority of them had recognized me as the private patient's little tagalong. No one even had the decency to hold their amusement in my presence.

Sighing a bit miserably, I was about to pass the receptionist table (the receptionist and I both were so used of my presence already that we just kept to ourselves) when I saw something white in the corner of my eyes.

It was a white-haired young woman, with a little girl with red-streaked white hair and a boy around my age with split hair colours each holding onto her hands. Two older boys —one red-haired and the other white— playing to themselves on a bench near the woman who was obviously their mother.

At my first glance, my thought was: _The kids kinda look like Enji._

And then nearly gave myself a whiplash with how fast I threw my head on their direction. Especially, on the littlest kid.

Because _split hair!_ As in, Split Hair with capslock because _who else got hair like that beside **Todoroki Shoto**? _And, wait, then that mean the woman was Mrs. Todoroki whose name was never mentioned in the story (so far that I knew)... I couldn't resist glancing at the two playing boys again — _could one of them be Dabi? Maybe the red-haired one?_

Hmm... What a wonderful thing, Todoroki theory was. One of the main villains as one of the main protagonists' long lost brother would certainly be interesting. And if that was true... Well, now that I was here, I could try and find out what actually happened in the Todoroki family's past.

And then, I finally realized something vitally important.

And nearly shrieked and banged my head into the wall for my stupidity.

 _They looked like Enji **because** he's their father!_

 _Enji, as in Todoroki Enji, the no. 2 Hero: Endeavor!_

 _Oh_ _shit, shiiittttteeee,_ my thoughts were running a mile a second, _Shit, stupid, stupid Shizuka! How could I forget things like that? No wonder he's got a fudging big-ass room and a private floor for himself! He's a famed Hero!_

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. My head was starting to spin. _Calm. Right. Wait, that's why his last name isn't written! To protect himself and his family from villains_ _! Shit! Todoroki Enji—!_

"Excuse me, but do you know my husband?"

 _...I said that outloud, didn't I?_

I reluctantly lifted my head to find a kind pair of eyes in front of me. Absentmindedly, I noted that her eyes weren't grey like the anime made, but just very pale blue that bordered white. I wailed inwardly when I noticed five more pairs of eyes staring at me curiously.

 _Shit. Shiiiitteeeee._

 _This_ _was so not my day_

"...Ah, um, a bit? I just met him two weeks ago."

I winced at the barely heard sentences. My lips darted through my lips in an effort to wet the suddenly dry sensor device. From the slight narrowing of her eyes and the sudden understanding in them, she heard my answer.

"Really, how did you met him? I thought he was still in a bad condition two weeks ago." She asked sincerely, eyes glancing to the watching receptionist in confirmation.

Said receptionist nodded, strains of grey hair shown amongst the brown ones. "He was, but when Todoroki-sama wake up, he called for Shizuka to his room without informing us. It caused quite a ruckus when a nurse found her in his room, actually, but Todoroki-sama straightened things out and little chibi there has been in his list of people allowed since then."

I glared at the middle-aged woman. Half for the chibi use, and the other for being a telltale. And a gossip. And I felt a bit weirded out. Who willingly called that rude, sadistic man with such respectful tone and honorific?

 _Note to self: Receptionist-san is a gossip and an Endeavor fan._

"Honestly," She continued, "Some of us even thought she snuck into Todoroki-sama's room without him knowing for whatever reasons."

"The door's locked, remember? And I don't have the key." I reminded her quickly, cutting off her rambling. _If only she knows._

In front of me, Mrs. Todoroki hummed in acknowledge. I squirmed uncomfortably in my place. For such a gentle and kind character, her presence surprisingly felt... Not heavy, but _there._

Mrs. Todoroki bowed her head slightly for my small body, "Your name is Shizuka?"

I nodded, feeling strangely shy in front of this stranger and the five pairs of eyes still following us. _Me._

"Midoriya Shizuka."

She gave a kind, reassuring smile.

"Hello sweetheart, I'm Todoroki Rei — Enji's wife. This is our children," She gestured to the two boys on the bench and the two smaller kids hiding behind her skirt. "Do you know where my husband's room is?"

"I do."

"Then, can you lead the way please?"

I gave her a smile and mustered up my cutest smile.

"Of course, Todoroki-san!"

 _(And round, round, go the merry round.)_

.

.

Todoroki Rei wasn't an angel.

Despite her preference to peace, her calm demeanor, and the way she handled everything with gentleness, Rei wasn't blind to her faults. Once, she considered herself a beautiful girl with a bright future — then a firestorm by the name of Endeavor swept by and destroyed the rose-tinted glasses she hadn't realized she was wearing.

She woke up to cruel reality, and she hated him for it.

Life wasn't good for a short time, but it wasn't as bad as she predicted. She had everything she could ever ask for, her parents happy, and her husband —as much as she hated it— was great at the intercourse. No matter how _lonely_ she felt.

The loneliness went away when she birth a beautiful baby boy, and three more children at the span of six years.

And in place of loneliness, she was granted _guilt_. Guilt for seeing her kids got yelled by the man they called father, guilt for not always being able to helped them, guilt because she couldn't do anything while her little children's fear and anger grew, guilt because she _knew—_

 _It was her fault for birthing them._

Rei was aware of her slowly deteriorating mental health that had occurred ever since Shoto was born. The gleeful look Enji gave Shoto when he saw his split hair might be the one thing that tipped her. There was a huge chance of Shoto inheriting a dual Quirk, and if so, his future would only ended up in misery.

Her baby boy... Rei didn't want that for her pure boy.

She did all she could to gave all four of her children the love they deserved. She tried to hold on to her mind. She tried, once more, to make Enji realized that they were all _his kids, not Endeavor's._

It lead to meeting a curious girl —as young as her Shoto— who somehow knew her husband. Her cruel, harsh husband. She couldn't believe the rumors surrounding how Enji was fond of the little girl, that she became his loyal visitor. Midoriya Shizuka certainly was an enigma, but that could wait.

They'd arrived in front of Enji's door. Fuyumi and Shoto shuffled their feet in reluctancy, Touya and Natsuo scowling at the door. Rei was just glad Shizuka seemed to understand their hesitancy, and took a deep breath for herself before raising a hand toward the door—

It opened on it's own.

Holding to the knob, was Enji himself. Rei took a moment to observe her husband, who didn't look as bad as she thought with only a leg and a hand bandaged and an IV attached to his hand.

He ignored them and turned to Shizuka. "You were fifteen minutes late." He said with an unimpressed tone and raised an expectant eyebrow at her. Rei winced slightly, recognizing it for the look he often gave their children. If Enji noticed, he didn't say anything.

The three years old girl huffed indignantly. "I know, I know. I'm going there." She turned to Rei with a smile back on her face, "I'm about to head to the canteen, do you want something, Todoroki-san?"

Surprised, Rei was silent for a few seconds before answering, "Can you please buy four orange juices? The money—"

"Pay everything with my card, Midoriya," Enji cut off without even looking at her, and turned to his silent children, "Rei, Natsuo, Fuyumi, Shoto — go with shortstack over there." It was an order, and Rei huffed before turning to the elevator; his younger siblings following.

Before going, Shizuka grabbed Enji's good hand and spoke to him in a low tone. Hitomi couldn't hear anything, but it was the most serious face she had seen the little girl make. And to her surprise, Enji only scowled at her and told her to scram. It didn't stop the pleased grin on Shizuka's face.

Todoroki Enji doesn't like being told what to do. That was a fact she knew all too well. And yet, a little stranger somehow managed to do so.

The elevator dinged, and closed a few seconds later.

Rei and Enji stayed in silent before Enji turned to go back inside his room, his IV wheels making a small noise as it went.

"Let's talk inside."

Rei followed, taking a seat next to his bed.

"How have the kids been?" The man started.

 _Formalities,_ Rei thought, _as if we aren't husband and wife already._

"They're fine, nothing happened." She answered. "How have you been, _anata_?"

Enji grunted, "I've been better."

"How do you know Shizuka-chan?"

"She's a strange girl," He said casually, "She visited me out of her curiosity one day and we struck a deal."

Rei raised an eyebrow inwardly, but outward her expression never changed. "You gave her one of your cards?" A slight disbelieving tone coloured her question, "You never trusted anyone enough to do so."

 _Not even me,_ was what left unsaid.

"What am I supposed to do?" Enji growled slightly, teal eyes glaring at her pale blue ones. "I only gave it so she can buy me foods and drinks — I certainly can't, with my condition."

Rei was smart enough to realized how _bullshit_ it was. Why would he gave a three years old his credit card (and not only give, Shizuka _kept_ it), only for her to buy him food everyday? Nurses were certainly more than willing to do that considering his hero status, and didn't hospital's canteens could deliver their food to patient rooms? Both options were better than having a three years old acted like a maid to him — she knew that her husband knew it too.

And yet he still chose Shizuka.

Rei repressed an urge to smile.

"How much long are you going to spend in the hospital, Enji?" She swiftly changed the subject.

"...Nearing three weeks, at most."

"Won't you miss Shizuka, _anata_? Our house is quite far from here, and it's likely you won't see her as much as you do now." She told him.

As expected, the no. 2 Hero glared at her, lips curled in an unpleasant sneer. "Don't think this past two weeks had changed me into a _soft fool_." He spat the words as if it was acid, "I coule care less about her."

No more words were spoken.

Still, Rei couldn't stop the hope unfurling in her heart.

 _Even if you say that, Enji..._ she glanced to the door leading to the bathroom, _it_ _doesn't erase the fact that you went out the_ _room to check on Shizuka-chan out of worry._

It was a start.

.

.

The tension was awkward in more ways than one.

The Todoroki siblings didn't try to engage me in a conversation, instead opting to say a few necessary words to each others while the rest of the time was spent in silence. Even Shoto—

 _(Todoroki Shoto. The boy who will overcome his hatred and embrace himself and **love himself** in the future. The beautiful, beautiful boy who's funny and amazing and **pure** despite his past._

 _The_ _boy Cass adored, and still is.)_

—hadn't dare to try to speak to me. Was I scary or something? It kinda felt like they were wary of me even though I'm younger than the majority of them...

"How do you know father?" The red-haired Todoroki asked, a hint of demanding tone I was too familiar with slipped in. Not only his hair and eyes (and Quirk), but his personality seemed to resemble his father. I shuddered at the thought of two insufferable, sadist Enjis. _One is enough, thanks._

On the other hand... Bingo. That was what bothering them, if the curious and wary gazes the other three were sending me was any indication.

I felt a pang in my head. The Todoroki siblings... They were clearly not fond of their father, even his wife didn't. It seemed the hatred steamed early, and Shoto didn't seem to hate his father yet so he hadn't gotten his Quirk yet.

 _That's good,_ she thought, _maybe I can change their relationships starting from now._

"Eh, it was kinda stupid, really." A pause. I played with the lemon tea I got —Enji won't notice a few yen missing anyway— for a few moments, their eyes never strayed away from me. I sighed in resignation.

"Fine... I was just wondering by myself, two weeks ago. I ran away from my appointment and found myself in front of your father's door, you see, so I picked the lock and found him in a coma inside."

"Father was comatose?" Shoto whispered in surprise. Likewise, the other siblings looked like they never thought Enji could become so weak like that.

"Yeah, and a few days later I decided to visit him." Here I hesitated, "Your father... When he was in a coma, he looked so... _fragile_. He was bandaged heavily, and what little skin I could see was very pale. There were so many cables on him, too."

My listeners went wide-eyed and Touya and Natsuo even paled a bit. I smiled gently at their obvious concern. At least they still loved him, even if they disliked him too.

"I just thought he looked so lonely right there... That's why I visited him again, and to my surprise when I snuck in he was already awake!" I made a face, "And he caught me on the act, so he blackmailed me to come here very often to buy him food and drink. If I don't, he said he would call the police."

Fuyumi giggled, "Father really did that?"

"Yeah... He's so bossy!"

The white-haired boy who I assumed was Natsuo snorted, "That's him, alright."

"Wait... So he blackmailed a three years old to become his personal maid?" The red-haired who most likely was Asahi asked incredulously.

In a matter-of-fact tone, Shoto piped up:

"Father is petty."

That startled the rest of us into laughing. Shoto joined in, delighted that he made us laughed. But _seriously,_ Shoto's humour was great! His dry humour and dead tone never changed even into the future, and I was glad for that. It was just something so uniquely _him._

And then the image of little Enji whacking a child on the head for stealing his toy appeared in my mind, and I was once again sent into a fit of laughter that had me wheezing noisily.

.

.

Ten minutes later had us finally heading the receptionist table, where next to it the elevators were located.

All five of us were in a bliss after that funny remark Shoto'd made. Touya's still chuckling once a few minutes, even. I was betting that Shoto would become the little lightbulb in Todoroki household, once he was comfortable enough to fight his wariness against his father. He was just brilliant that way.

And thanks to him, we finally really clicked. I got along particularly well with Touya and Shoto, but Natsuo and Fuyumi were great too. They were just more subdued, while Asahi was the passionate and rowdy one. Meanwhile, Shoto and I got along not just because we were the same age, but somehow our personality just matched well. We were even comfortable enough to hold hands while we walk.

"Father really did _that_?"

I giggled in glee. Oh, how fun it was to share someone's dirty secrets. "Yeah! He was forced to have me feeding him while the nurse is there. If they know he's already stretching himself, he would be banned from foods besides what the nurses give, pro hero or not."

"Shizuka-chan, you really are amazing!" Touya cooed, squishing my cheeks in-between his hands. I pouted, which made the others giggling at me.

"Ugh, Touya—"

I abruptly stopped. The pout was gone in a second while my eyes narrowed in surprise and confusion. But the person that I saw had disappeared out of my sight and toward the hospital door.

 _Isn't that..._

"Kacchan?"

Without even realizing, my feet had already started to run. My instinct was screaming at me, insisting that it was Kacchan, my best friend. Because the stick-up ash-blonde hair was something only a few people have, and I didn't doubt it was him that I saw.

And I was right.

In front of me was a familiar small figure who's running. His white jacket fluttering slightly on his back.

"Kacchan!" I yelled out, trying to reach him. Why didn't he stop? Why wouldn't he? "Kacchan, stop! It's me, Shizuka!"

At those words, Kacchan abruptly stop, sending me skidding into his back and made me fall down into my butt. My left palm throbbed where it hit the asphalt, but I took no notice.

"Kacchan?"

Slowly, my best friend turned around, and I gasped. His red eyes... The eyes that were always full of excitement and life... Suddenly, it was filled with scorn and brewing rage. It reminded me of the Kacchan who hated Izuku, and on instinct, I took a few steps back.

"Shizuka..." He slowly spoke, "Stop calling me that name."

"...W-what? Kacchan, w—"

"I said, _stop calling me Kacchan!_ " He yelled out, fists clenched tightly in a failed effort to stay calm. "That's a stupid name! I never liked it, you stupid _Deku_!"

My eyes widened, tears started to gather on them. _Why... Why did he suddenly get angry? Why did he call me Deku?! I thought I'd change the future — I thought we're going to be fine, but... But, why?_

"You've always been like a _Deku_ ," He spat out the name as if it was filthy, "A useless person who can never do things right — that's you!"

I stared wide-eyed, numb in front of his rage. That fact seemed to make him even madder, but I couldn't even feel my fingers. It was like I'd relapse back to my numb episodes, and... The only person here that could helped me out of it was Kacchan, wasn't it?

 _No... not Kacchan. Not even Katsuki. I don't have the privilege to call him that anymore._

"I hate you, I hate you—"

Each words felt like a knife stab on my heart.

"I _hate_ you, _Deku_!"

He ran away, leaving me to watch his back as his words rang in my head over and over again.

The tears never made it out before the blackness crowded my eyes, head throbbing painfully.

And before I know it, I fainted.

.

.

 **Next chapter: Growing Up**

 **Word count: 4227**

 **It pains me but it must be done ;; Kacchan and Shizuka's personalities are just too similar in some aspects, but so different in others. There's always a fight waiting to brew somewhere.**

 **Hope you guys like this chapter! Don't forget to comment! xxxx**


	6. before it has begun

**So, yesterday I finally catch up with the anime and I was so pumped up. I can't wait for OFA vs AFO this saturday!**

 **Also, happy birthday to DadMight, at June 10th. I forgot to say it on the last chap hehe.**

 **And last: Skyscraper hit 200 favorites! Wow, it's incredible, thank you so much y'all uwu/ I love youuu~ Also thanks** **for all your reviews xx**

 **p.s. I tried writing while listening to music with my earphones, and it somehow made my writings more poetic (?) and angsty. So blame it.**

 **Enjoy~**

.

.

 **vi.** _before it has begun_

.

.

 _"...K-k-kacchan?"_

 _The rain was pouring heavily, dark clouds circulating upside as the city was filled with the sounds of thunder and water hitting surfaces. Citizens of Tokyo were all hiding in their own houses, with a few left running for safety from the nature._

 _In_ _one of the small parks at Ichigo district, an odd scene was found. A little girl no older than four was soaked, but seemingly not taking any care as she sat on a swing. Small legs swung idly as she moved her face upwards._

 _To_ _people who saw, it must be a strange and worrying thing. But I didn't mind any of it. I relished on the feel of rain hitting my bare skin._

 _The_ _earthy scent of rain reminded me that I was still alive._

 _I_ _wasn't waiting for anyone — I knew not to expect anyone to come here. But I wasn't that surprised to find an umbrella suddenly thrust above my face, and I opened an eye to find a glaring red eyes holding it._

 _"What are you doing, stupid?" He grouchily asked, red glared unforgivingly at my green._

 _A_ _feeling of fond_ _exasperation hit me. Kacchan had always been like that — reluctant in showing his care, and acting tough as if everyone expected him to. Well, they might, but I'd never been them. He knew that, but I guess it was engrained on the core already._

 _My_ _lips quirked up into a smile. "I was enjoying the rain. You know how I love it."_

 _He scoffed, "Don't con me, stupid. What kind of crazy person gets out at 8 only to sit in a park and get soaked?"_

 _ **Me, apparently,** but I didn't dare utter it. He'd probably get even angrier at me._

 _"Did you have another fight?" He asked, eyes suddenly softened even if his voice and facial expression didn't change._

 _I_ _noticed him still standing in front of me, his umbrella covering me while he was slowly getting soaked. "You're getting wet," I pushed the umbrella gently back to him, but he wouldn't budge. "I'm already soaked, you know. You should take this for yourself."_

 _"Don't change the subject," He stubbornly remained._

 _I_ _smiled easily, "I'm fine, Kacchan. It's just a little fight about her work again."_

 _For about a few weeks, Mama and I had have fights, mostly about her working schedule. It wasn't physical or loud, rather just a cold silence and tears that resulted in both of us swarming with guilt. None of us liked to fight, but I'd gotten rather tense and sassy because she was always home late. Her work was stressful lately that it made her snap sometimes._

 _"We're just pouring our stress into each other, I guess." I crinkled my eyes into a smile, "Pouring — as in raining. See?"_

 ** _Bop._**

 _I_ _blinked, hands automatically holding my head where Kacchan hit me. I was probably staring at him like I'd never see him, which was what I feel right now._

 _"...um...?" I intelligently said._

 _"Stop it. I don't like that smile," There was a glint in his eyes that I didn't recognize. "And that was a terrible pun, Shi-chan."_

 _"Eh?" I asked, properly confused._

 _Honestly_ _, I didn't understand him._

 _"Let's go home now." He offered a hand for me to take._

 _Back_ _then, I thought that it was okay to not to. There was no one exactly the same, after all._

 _"Okay."_

 _Back then, I was also stupidly naive._

.

.

The pitter-patter of rain against the ground, drops of water falling from the roof and the plants around, along with the scent of rain and fresh earth.

It was to this that he found me.

Eyes closed, mind deep in a memory that made me melancholy, an old wound of the heart throbbing once again.

"What are you thinking about?" A soothing voice, and I smiled without opening my eyes.

"Nothing..." I paused, "just the rain and an old memory."

It was silent for a moment. I could faintly heard him taking a seat next to me, and felt a chilling cold oozing from his right side. I laid down my head on his shoulder and hum to myself.

"...are you ready?"

I hummed. I knew what he was talking about — it couldn't be anything other than the practical examination I was taking for U.A. tomorrow. I'd took the written test already two weeks ago. It was easier than I predicted, and no doubt others were thinking so too. The possibility was that, it was designed that way so hopeful students underestimate the practical exam and ended up failing badly.

I wouldn't be surprised — U.A. were known for their unique ways of teaching.

But I was ready for the practical exam. I had been over to Todoroki estate (it was _that_ big) regularly to practice for nearly a month now. Shoto himself had been my favorite sparring partner. He knew I was as ready as I can be.

It wasn't my physical he was asking, it was my mentality.

Tomorrow... I would see Kacchan again. Last year when I was homeschooled, I hadn't seen Kacchan at all. Our houses weren't that far, and I had the feeling he was avoiding me.

It was fine though. I wasn't as bothered as I used to. And I understand, about his inferior/superior complex he had. It made him lashed out on me ten years ago.

It was terribly lonely without him. A half a year friendship felt like a lifetime, and I had difficulties in adjusting.

I missed him, but there was nothing I can do.

Shoto most probably knew this too. Over the years, his whole family and I had become friends and even family. Rei felt like my second mother, Fuyumi an older sister, and Natsuo a calm wise older brother. Touya was an annoying, mischievous brother-slash-friend, while Enji felt like a father-slash-older brother figure to me. He was still a grouchy bastard, but better than before.

While Shoto... He became my best friend and my twin. He understood me and my tendency to fall into silence and gazing to nowhere, and likewise I understood that sometimes he just felt trapped.

I smiled into the little crook on his shoulder, "Don't worry about me. You did your acceptance test yesterday, right? How was it?"

"It wasn't much different from yours I think, but perhaps a little more difficult. There are also some aspects they asked of us. For example, our ability to make plans in a short time." He told me in his usual calm voice. Nothing seemed to shake his calm mask.

"There will be four people chosen each year; two in each classes." He continued.

I opened my eyes drowsily to the image of the rain nearly slowing down completely. It was a nice feeling, being close to one of my best friends while it was raining.

It nearly erased my nerves.

"I hope we'll be in the same class,"

I smiled into his cloth.

"Me too."

.

.

The next morning, right at 5 AM, I was already out of the house.

I was running a little late, so I had to eat my toast and trying not to choke as I ran. It was entirely my fault though.

The Todoroki estate was a train ride away from my house, and I'd fallen asleep with Shoto yesterday. When I woke up, they tried to persuade me to sleepover as it was already 10 pm. But I didn't feel like leaving my mom alone, and so Touya ended up driving me home with his brand new car. I arrived at 11 pm and crashed without setting the alarm clock.

A bit struggling later, I found myself standing in front of a private beach. It wasn't exactly private, per se, but it used to be full of trash and was a junkyard until it was thoroughly cleaned just two days ago.

The sound of waves softly hitting the sand was strangely peaceful, and I smiled at the sight of the sun rising on the low sky. It was a beautiful sight, and I was so proud of myself for essentially creating said sight by cleaning the junks.

"You're finally here, Young Midoriya!" A voice boomed behind me, and I jumped a bit. For a big guy, All Might sure was stealthy when he wanted to.

"Yagi-san, you startled me! Also, call me Shizuka, remember?"

He gave a sheepish smile, "I apologize, Young Shizuka. I didn't mean to."

"Why are you in your All Might form? Do you want a repeat of last time?" I gave him a teasing smirk, and wiggled my eyebrows. To my satisfaction, he reddened slightly and rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish gesture.

The last time he transformed with me, we got a rush of women throwing themselves at him. Turned out, the beach wasn't as abandoned as we'd thought. It was a lesson learned that I still shudder about. Those women had glared at me so viciously.

All Might turned back into his true form, smoke going out from his body as it turned small until in his place, was a short man of skin and bones wearing an oversized clothes. Even his antenna-hairs had gone down and became fringes.

"That's better!" I beamed, hugging him for a few seconds as he blushed adorably again. "Why do you use your All Might form anyway?"

"A-ah, that was... I was just..." He fumbled, face reddening again until he finally mumbled so quiet I almost didn't hear. "...I wanted our last meeting to make an impression to you."

 _This man,_ I thought, _is too precious_ _for this world._

I put a hand on his shoulder, inwardly grimacing as all I felt beneath was bones and a thin layer of skin. I really felt the urge to feed him, but I resisted.

"Yagi-san," I called affectionately, "I like you the way you are, muscular or not. You're Toshinori Yagi because you're so kind and always genuinely try to help people. Not because you're the no.1 hero."

 _It was why,_ I thought to myself, _I agreed to be his successor and inherit One for All._

.

.

(a _year and two months ago_

 _ **The sakura trees are going to bloom soon,** I mused absentmindedly._

 _The strawberry-flavored ice cream in my hand was halfway done, what with me and my little obsession with ice cream. Nowadays, I craved for it so bad I nearly had it five days out of seven. It certainly put a dent on my wallet._

 ** _Probably my period approaching_**

 _I throw the clean stick into the trash can with a miserable sigh. I was still craving for ice cream! Honestly, the abnormally hot weather wasn't helping. I sneak a glance at the little store behind me (I was sitting on it's outdoor table), and licked my lips in consideration._

 ** _Maybe I could buy one more...?_**

 ** _...No way... My wallet is already nearly empty..._**

 _Five minutes later found me in front of the ice cream cold box. I probably made a pretty pathetic painting; a twelve years old wandering in front of the ice cream place with longing glances to the box. It was clear I didn't have any money._

 _My fingers itched in its place_ , _and I nearly had to wipe drool from my chin. **The lemon pops are dangerously tempting, seriously!**_

 _But knowing I couldn't buy more until a few days later when I got my monthly money, my shoulders slumped in defeat. I was just about to turn back and made my way home, when a skinny pale hand reached out and took a lemon ice pop towards me._

 _"Here, I'll pay for you," A deep voice said._

 _I glanced up, and my eyes widened at the sight. It was... It was a skeletal man! No way around it — he was really skinny and all skin and bones. The XXL-sized clothes he was wearing didn't help either. He... kind of looked pitiful at the first glance, but his shining blue eyes told a different story._

 _It was... All Might, wasn't it._

 _A glance to his long blonde fringes confirmed it._

 _Some memories from Before including about this world may have disappeared, but I still remembered the important things. That included the no. 1 hero and his life._

 _He must've misinterpreted my shocked look, because he suddenly started to look down and seemed to want to shrink into himself. **All Might... His real form was close to his hero look, isn't it? It must be difficult to adjust, even now...**_

 _"Ah, thank you!" I said quickly, bowing. "But you don't need to do that! I don't really need it, so don't waste your money on me please. Thank you though, stranger-san!"_

 _"Ah," He rubbed the back of his neck, the insecurity slipping away, "I just noticed you looking at it for a few minutes. You can take it — I'm just happy to help."_

 _I paused, before beaming happily. This no. 1 hero figure... He really was genuine in his kindness. Even when no one recognize him, he still tried to help. Very little people would be willing to do so, especially to a stranger like that._

 _But it was always the little things that matter._

 _All Mightreally is a hero._

 _"Thank you." I said again, not noticing that my smile practically radiating warmth right now, "How about we share?"_

 _He smiled, close-lipped, and I marvelled at the difference. Sometimes, I thought that him and All Might were two different personalities. His real form certainly was a lot subdued._

 _"What is your name, hero-san?"_

 _He blushed slightly, "Ah, my name is Yagi Toshinori."_

 _"My name is Midoriya Shizuka, nice to meet you, my hero!"_

.

.

(back to the present)

"Have you try using One for All yesterday, Young Shizuka?"

I nodded excitedly, the feeling of having a Quirk was so foreign, but undoubtedly amazing. "Yeah! I've tried controlling it and I mostly succeed, but the higher the percentage the hardest it is."

"Yes, it is to be expected. You need more time practicing to be able to use it fluently as I do. It take me five years until I was able to control it fully." He told me.

"Five years, huh... Anyway, why did you say this is our last meeting?" I glanced up, lips curling into a smile — it somehow became an easy thing to do with him. His presence eased me. "Did you think I wouldn't want to meet up with you again after I have One for All?"

Ah, there he was, blushing again and shaking his head frantically in denial. Really, he was so adorable in a manner that reminded me of a dog. A golden retriever, perhaps. _He would look so cute with dog ears and tail,_ I smiled.

"No, no, I just thought that... Ah—"

I giggled, "Don't worry, Yagi-san, I'll never forget you! Considering your job at U.A. and me attending school again, we should be able to meet up a night a week, maybe have dinner or something."

"How do you know about my job at U.A...?" He asked, shocked.

"Hmm... Well, you said that you moved her to Tokyo to search for a successor, and what better place than a school? Coincidentally, the no. 1 hero school in Japan is in Tokyo. So I just took a guess, and you proved me right."

Yagi slumped, "sometimes I forget you're so perspective, Young Shizuka."

I giggled again, and reached a hand into my worn-out backpack and threw a lunch box at him.

"Here, Yagi-san! Don't forget to eat it. Knowing you, you hadn't have breakfast yet." I gave him a mock glare.

It was one of the reasons I got here late, but I would never missed out on it. Over the year, I've learned that he live alone in a small apartment, so he had to take care of himself. So I tried my best to help by cooking him easily ingested food with the thought of his nearly non-existent stomach in mind.

Without waiting to hear his half-hearted protests, I zipped back my backpack and waved, "Bye, Yagi-san! Wish me luck!"

"Do your best, Young Shizuka! I'll be rooting for you!"

 _Seriously, Yagi is a blessing in life._

.

.

The U.A. entrance door was as amazing as I remember it.

The sight of the many teenagers entering it, however, made my nerves hit me right in the gut. There was just so many participants, all of them having made it through the written examination.

For a moment, I allowed myself to doubt. What if I won't make it? What if I fail? What would I do then?

But it wasn't logical. I've practiced since I was five, along with Shoto, and even Enji and All Might said my combat prowess was amazing for my age.

I took a deep breath.

 _No turning back now, Shizuka._

And so it began.

.

.

 **Next chapter: Old and New Friends**

 **Word Count: 2916**

 **I'll try to make the next chapter longer xx**


	7. goosebumps all over

.

.

 **vii.** _goosebumps all over_

.

.

 _Wow... Yuuei really was over-everything._

The door leading to Class 1-A (and every other's) certainly fits better for a giant, instead of my normal stature. It was easily thrice and a half my height and fourth the size of my body. Interestingly enough, when I pulled the knob of the door, it weighted like every other doors, if only slightly heavier. My curiosity pinging inside me, but I discarded it aside.

"Here we go..." I murmured to myself. After taking a deep breath, I firmed my grip and pull it fully.

The first thing that hit me was the noise. It was pretty loud, an indicate that people was already getting friendly with each others. It was the norm in Japan, but in Before, first days usually mean awkward and shy classmates. We weren't quite as bolsterious as some of our Asian counterparts.

The class practically screamed friendliness, and I could tell already why they could become friends so fast in the Canon. Even Izuku, a shy outcast, made two friends in the first day.

However, it went without saying that I wasn't Izuku.

Despite the possibility of us sharing the same (future?) role, I could describe to you on and on of why we weren't alike at all. Somethings couldn't be helped, but most of it was not a match.

For example, I hadn't made a friend in Uraraka Ochako and Iida Tenya the day of the practical exam. We were still in the same Ground B (with Aoyama and some kids from 1-B, I noted), but our simply road never crossed.

And another example was that I managed to get into the class without drawing excessive attention.

With a swift glance on the class, I realized that nearly half of my classmates were already here. Bags were thrown across the desks and chairs were seated so that no one would claim it. It seemed, that I wasn't the only one feeling enthusiastic (or nervous) for this first day at the prestigious academy.

I found Shoto right on the last line of seats, next to a girl I knew as Yaoyorozu. I didn't remember her first name, but I knew she was a rich, intelligent girl with a creation Quirk. In front of her was Mineta, who was no doubt seated there only because Yaoyorozu was behind him. The pervert was funny on the screen sometimes, but if he tried anything untowardly, I wouldn't hesitate to kick him where the sun doesn't shine.

In front of Mineta was Izuku's chair. There was no way I'd sit there — I didn't want to bait the pervert or something. _Beside,_ I noted, _Kacchan's seat is in front of Izuku's._ He wasn't here yet, and it was slightly shooting to me.

It seemed I wasn't as ready to see him as I thought.

Nevertheless, I made my way to Shoto. In his right was an empty seat, and next to it — the corner — was also an empty seat. I couldn't remember whose both of those chairs were, but I couldn't care less.

I dropped my bag gently to the desk next to Shoto's, and took a seat.

Shoto turned to me with a stoic face, something he always did whenever he felt unpleasant emotions, such as awkwardness and nervousness. I was glad that he turned so quickly to me, a sign that he trusted me. Even after ten years of friendship, I was still happy to receive reassurances on his opinion about me and us.

"Good morning, Shoto."

He nodded, "Good morning. Did anything happen on your way here?"

Two years ago, I was harassed on my way to school on the public train. I'd put some fear in him and a parting gift of a twisted wrist, but when the Todorokis heard, they went ballistic. Enji personally put on his hero form and visited the man, while the others went with to threaten him. He was put into jail for countless proves on sexual harassments, but the result was there. They never let me went home by myself when it was late night, and they tried their best to accompany me. Even this morning, Shoto had offered to go to my house and then to Yuuei together, but I vehemently refused. The Todoroki household was the opposite way to Yuuei from mine.

I allowed him his concerns, and smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine, Shoto. Have Natsuo and Touya went back already?"

He shook his head, "No. They decided to return tomorrow. Mother asked me to invite you for a parting dinner in our house, tonight. Can you?"

I beamed. "Of course I can! You know me, I will never miss Rei-baa-san's cooking. Is there seafood stew?"

"Of course."

He nodded grimly, as if it was impossible there wasn't. It warmed my heart, and I let a sheepish chuckle escaped me.

Shoto, as always, managed to relaxed me.

"Excuse me," a polite voice asked from next to Shoto, "do you know each other?"

Shoto nodded to the smiling Yaoyorozu, "We have been friends for a long time."

"Aw, don't be shy, Shoto." I nudged him playfully, "We're like twins now, with how synchronized we are sometimes."

"Amazing..." Yaoyorozu smiled excitedly, "Your childhood must be interesting!"

 _And you don't even know half of it._

"Ah, forgive me. I forgot my manners. My name is Yaoyorozu Momo, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintances. I hope we'll become good friends." She smiled adorably, and I was instantly hooked.

"My name is Midoriya Shizuka, pleased to meet you as well. I'm sure we'll become close friends, at least, Yaoyorozu!"

"Todoroki Shoto. Pleased to meet you."

I turned to Koda and Tokoyami, whom seated in front of Shoto and I, with a sudden burst of energy. "Hello, you two~ I'm Midoriya Shizuka, nice to meet you two as well!"

Koda blushed and waved his arms slightly before nodding, all the while making no sounds at all. In front of my best friend, Tokoyami turned and nodded as seriously as Shoto. It made me want to pinch his feathered cheeks.

"I am Tokoyami Fumikage, pleased to meet your acquaintance, Midoriya-san. And you too, Yaoyorozu-san, Todoroki-san." He said in a deep voice. "Please don't take any offence about Koda. He's very shy and rarely speak. He didn't intend to be rude."

"It's okay, I got it," I waved dismissively.

 _"Deku..."_

I tensed, looking around the class with observant eyes. Just then... someone called me...?

I locked eyes with one Bakugo Katsuki.

His red eyes stared at me in a mixture of emotions I couldn't quite discern. There was slight anger, and perhaps sadness? I wasn't sure. But, Kacchan hadn't change much. The way he held himself, those instinctive scowls, they still all screamed _explosive, dangerous ash-blond_.

I could see his red eyes slowly taking me in. The tension I hadn't realize I was in was broken like a magic spell, by a red-haired boy greeting Katsuki quite energetically. Kirishima, if I wasn't wrong. Instantly, my body slacked back to my chair. The explosive yells and some curses here and there entered my hearing but I paid it no mind.

"You okay?" Shoto whispered beside me.

I nodded, glancing at Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami to find them conversing calmly between the two of them. I knew though, that they weren't fooled. They saw it, and I knew I owe them an explanation. It was rude to stop the conversation like that.

The sound of chair getting dragged came directly from my right, and I turned around to find a brunette with unique bob hair settling herself in. Uraraka Ochako. I blinked, surprised, and a moment later I grinned at her.

"Hi! My name is Midoriya Shizuka, pleased to meet you!"

"Hi!" The brunette grinned, "I'm Uraraka Ochako! You can call me Ochako-chan though, Midoriya-chan. It's nice to meet you too!"

"Then call me Shizuka, please. I'm not a big fan of honorifics, to be honest."

All of a sudden, the class fell silent.

A man entered the class in a confident —though no less lazy— strides. His hair was black and messy, with droppy eyes, fair skin, black messy clothes, and a strangely stiff scarf wrapped on his shoulders. A yellow sleeping bag akin to a cocoon was lifted in one arm, while the fingers held empty juice box.

It was clear, that this man was a busy one.

 _Eraserhead._

"It took you lot twelve seconds to be silent." He said, voice sharp and laid-back at the same time. "Time is precious, you kids aren't rational enough."

Out of nowhere, his empty hand reached into the sleeping bag and pull out a spotless, brand new P.E. uniform. He held it next to him so everyone could see.

"My name is Aizawa Shota, your homeroom teacher. Pleased to meet you," His eyes flitted from one kid to another, "Go to your changing room, find your own lockers, put this on and meet me in the training field. I'll give you ten minutes."

Everyone was silent. Unmoving.

" _Now._ "

We scrammed it out there.

.

.

Aizawa Shota stared impassively at the bunch of kids standing in front of him. Already, some of them were standing in groups. There were invisible lines in form of half a step away from others, but to his keen eyes, it was clear as day.

Snot-nosed brats.

Shota gave a thorough glance, noting that all 20 kids was here, and without any care he dropped the bomb, "We're going to have a Quirk assessment test."

They exploded into whispers and half-attempted protests, but he heard all anyway. "Eeeh? A test? Aren't we supposed to have the entrance ceremony? Orientation?" A bob-haired girl spoke wide-eyed to her friends. Shota recalled, _Zero Gravity._

"I'm not surprised. Yuuei was known for it's effective way of teachings, Ochako-chan." A demure, kind voice said. _Creation..._ A child of pro hero, most likely.

"There are rumors of last year's whole class of first year being expelled on their first day." Green hair spoke softly. Her eyes flicked to him for a second, and Shota's eyes sharpened. _She knows?_ That girl... Midoriya Shizuka, her Quirk was described as strength enhancer, but there was no name.

Aizawa grinned slightly, even when his brows furrowed. _Interesting._

Back to the task. "If you're done talking amongst yourself, I'm going to explain this once. The test is similar to what you did on middle school, but you have to utilize your Quirk the best way possible. Eight different tests, each recorded in this." He showed the device.

" _Know your limits_. That is the most rational way to form ghe foundation of a hero."

Shota knew that they felt apprehensive and excited at once. It wasn't enough.

"Whoever comes in last place in all eight tests will be judged to have no potential _and will be expelled_."

The kids panicked. Midoriya looked unsurprised, if grim.

Shota felt his grin widened.

" _Welcome to Yuuei's hero course._ "

 _I will be watching you_

.

.

After the unnerving, if dramatic, explanation from Aizawa-sensei, we prepared ourselves as best as we could before our turn. The first test was a 50 meter dash. Instantly, Shoto and I moved a bit farther from everyone else and did a small warm-up. We'd learn the hard way how painful cramps and twisted ankles were.

And from the corner of our eyes, we watched. This far, one had a frog-like abilities, a speed engine on their calves, a strong tail, a control over gravitional pulls, acid, and even a shining laser.

"They're untrained," Shoto said quietly, "This is likely their first time training their Quirks out of necessary."

I stood up. "But they have potential. Their Quirks are varied, as well."

"Midoriya, Bakugo, your turn. Hurry up." Aizawa-sensei called.

I felt my muscles tensed more of a habit than anything else. Kacchan never looked at me since class. He kept his gaze firmly ahead, and I resolved to do the same. We were in our dream school now, and this test could determine everything. There was just no time for conflict.

"Get set... Go!"

Predictably, Kacchan used his explosions to boost his movements, making small jumps here and there. But in a few seconds, I had him beat and hacking slightly from the dust I disturbed. One for All's residues left my legs tingling slightly, the green light flickers faintly. I used a 10%, and I managed to pass Kacchan by 0.5 seconds.

I turned away from him. I didn't want to see his reaction.

 _"I hate you."_

I scoffed. Even after eleven years, the words haunt me still. My chest locked for a second before I breathed freely once again, as if nothing happened.

 _I don't need this. I can't be distracted. Aizawa-sensei... I can't be sure he's lying this time around._

I can't take any chances. So much depended on me.

And with that resolve, I passed the rest of the tests with acceptable scores. Shoto, of course, nearly aced it all. I've seen Yaoyorozu creatively creating things with her Quirks, and I was sure she would pass with flying colors. The others didn't seem to do bad.

However, at the last test... For the first time, I lost control of One for All. Aizawa-sensei didn't make an effort to erase my Quirk, as he likely didn't know because I didn't hurt myself on the practical examination. I intended to use it only at 50%. I was aware, it was my last chance to at least boost my score a little.

 _Now or never_ , a voice whispered in the back of my head.

I squared my shoulders. Crackling, green lines appeared on my right hand as I ready myself to throw. The ball on the tips of my fingers. I pushed One for All harder than I ever did before.

A sharp pain on my hand, and the ball was thrown high into the sky.

 _801.3 meters_.

I smiled painfully. At least it was worth it.

The others ooh's as it was the first time my Quirk usage was clear, but I could feel Shoto's eyes. Sharp, zeroing on the hand hidden in my pants' pocket. I tried to ignore the throbbing.

Aizawa-sensei gazed at my face with intention, searching for something I didn't know. The man's black eyes stayed on mine for a few seconds more, before turning away. It seemed he was satisfied with whatever he was searching for.

I felt another pair of eyes on me, but when I turned, I couldn't spot them. But somehow, it felt familiar.

I didn't know, but the sharpness was scarily painful for me.

And then, the score board was shown.

I wasn't the last. In fact, I was the 13th, and on the last place was Mineta Minoru. My mouth clammed up, fear entering my being because, what if, _what if_ he was really expelled just because I wasn't the last?

My fear was for nothing.

And so, our first day in Yuuei passed with a nerve-racking test, and little else.

.

.

 **Word Count:** **2609**.

 **Sorry** **for the short chapter y'all. Tbh I just didn't know what to do with the Quirk test. And next chapter will likely be as awkward as well. *rubs head sheepishly* I'll try my best.**

 **Also: if you're familiar with Akatsuki no Yona / Yona of the Dawn, please check out my new fanfic xx**


	8. as i open my eyes, i'm a hero—

.

.

 **viii.** _as i open my eyes, i'm a hero..._

.

.

 _"From now on, your journey to become a pro hero has begin." His lips quirked into a half-smile, something so small that held an abundance of reassurances to me, and he knew it. "However, your journey as a hero has long started."_

 _"My journey... as a hero?"_

 _"Yes. Pro hero is a mere profession, but you know better than most the difference, don't you?_

 _"A true hero is someone who is willing to do what is right."_

.

.

The first day of Yuuei came and passed like an old memory.

After the Quirk assessment test, we were given the rest of the day off. From what I'd overheard, the rest of the first years were having the orientation to prepare for our next three years here while we were busy with the threat of expulsion. It seemed the other teachers and older students were well aware of Aizawa-sensei's little habit already, so no ruckus was made aside from a few confused new students.

From that reason alone, I'd truly realize what an extraordinary man Aizawa-sensei was, and an even extraordinary teacher.

In Yuuei hero course, we have mandatory classes in the morning, such as English, Mathematics, Science, and Modern Literatures. For lessons concerning hero studies, we have Fondational Hero Studies that dominated most of our schedule in the afternoon. It concerned everything a future hero needs to know, and each subcategories lasted a meeting or two only.

In the second day of Yuuei, I arrived with twenty minutes to spare. Embarrassingly enough, I was caught fidgeting in front of the class' door by Iida Tenya. He was a rather loud person and a bit naive, from what I remembered.

"Midoriya-san, good morning!" He enthusiastically spoke from behind me, and I tried to act as if I hadn't jump in fright just a moment ago.

"I-Iida Tenya, right? Good morning, my name is Midoriya Shizuka." I went for a half-genuine smile.

He nodded. "You're right, Midoriya-san. May I inquire why you're hesitating to enter?"

 _Nothing, just nervous about the paper bag on my right hand, really._ "A-ah, um, I—"

"Are you nervous?" He asked sympathetically, "It's perfectly fine, Midoriya-san. I too am a bit nervous, but from what I gathered yesterday, our class have students of great personality and characteristics befitting of future heroes."

Looking at his sincere eyes, I realized he was truly nervous about this new life he entered just a day ago. Everything he said is genuine — that's just the kind of person he is.

"Then you shouldn't be nervous too, Iida-san. I'm reassured now, because of you." I smiled up to him.

"Thank you," he said, a touch of relief in his voice, "I'll try my best to make friends and be a hero everyone can rely on!"

"Eh?" I grinned, "Well, at least you have one friend more now, right, Iida-san?"

He stammered, pink coloring his cheeks.

Unexpectedly, Iida is _cute._

.

.

The second the break bell rung, Shoto took my hand and before I knew it, we were already in line for today's special menu.

Of course, I should've anticipated that, if I'd known the menu schedule. Today was cold soba, Shoto's absolute favorite, and everyone knew how amazing The Cook Hero: Lunch Rush's cookings are. Not to mention how the price in here was affordable as well. Only the second day, and this had already became one of my favorite aspects of Yuuei.

"Where did you get the specials' schedules anyway? I thought only teachers know." I asked, exasperatedly fond for the teenager walking next to me. On his tray, were two bowls of cold sobas and a hot tea.

My cheeks still felt a bit warm from how some of the upperclassmen and Lunch Rush had laughed at our abrupt appearances and beelining to the special's waiting line. A comically plain upperclassman had even gave me a thumbs up.

"I asked from my father."

"Wait, seriously? That's _cheating_ , Shoto."

"Father hasn't disapprove."

"You and I both know you're his favorite." I rolled my eyes. "If you share the schedules, I promise I won't tell anyone."

Shoto looked at the way I was staring at, to our classmates' figures in the back of the line. Some of them had zeroed on us and our food already.

"Deal," he said quietly, then sped to the seat we'd claimed since yesterday. It was two tables from the window, and right around us were our classmates. As far as I knew, our classmates seemed to contended themselves with their groups. The girls clustered into a small group; Kacchan, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero claimed a table; Koda, Sato, and Aoyama in one table; Mineta, Shoji, Ojiro, and Iida in another; and of course, there were me, Shoto, and then—

"Woah! Todoroki-kun, you eat that much?" Ochako exclaimed as she sat herself to my left.

Shoto shook his head quietly. I could see his fingers twitching, but his manners demanded he wait for the others before he can eat. Unfortunately for him, I wasn't one to concern myself with that sort of things as long as the involved doesn't mind.

And they _don't,_ so I took great pleasure of eating as obnoxious as politely possible right in front of him. If glares could kill, I would die about a thousand times now.

"Then you must really like cold soba, then." Ochako, bless her heart, was trying to diffuse our little fight.

"Hmm, how do you know today's special menu is cold soba, Todoroki-kun?" Yaoyorozu asked gracefully from my right.

 _Sp_ _ot on_

"You do seemed so eager when you run out of class as soon as the bell ring, Todoroki-san." Tokoyami said calmly.

 _Direct hit..._

I allowed myself a few seconds of amusement before speaking up, "Well, it's because I know an upperclassman and, er, he told me about today's special menu. Shoto lucked out that today's his favorite."

Well... It's half-right? I'm pretty sure there are mentions of upperclassmen getting close to Izuku in the manga... which I didn't read at all...

I could just put Shoto into the ditch, if all else fail.

To Shoto's left, Tokoyami sent me a glance, clearly not buying it, before turning to his food. "I've been craving for fish the whole week."

Shoto and I shared a glance. _He_ _definitely knows._

"Shizuka..." Shoto suddenly started, "What do you bring in that paper bag?"

That brought everyone's attention to me. Yaoyorozu made a surprised noise, "You bring a bag here? I didn't even notice."

 _Shoto is playing dirty,_ I thought, frowning at the boy slurping his food calmly. I could just _feel_ the smugness radiating off of him.

"It's... actually muffins," I rubbed my nape sheepishly, "I woke up too early and made a whole bunch of muffins so I thought I'd share with my classmates..."

"Really? Can I have one, Shizu-chan?" Ochako perked up.

"Of course, here, do you want one with blueberries or choco chips?" I offered a muffin in each hand, one in pink ribbon and the other blue. Ochako chose chocolate, pink.

"Eh, it's... it's..." Ochako chewed the muffin slowly, eyes brightening, "it's _amazing_! It's better than any other muffins I've ever ate!"

I fidgeted in my seat, cheeks turning dusty pink as Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu asked if they could have one as well.

The traitor, Shoto, spoke up again, "Shizuka like to cook and bake since we were seven."

I laughed, "Yeah, after trials and errors and at least three burned kitchen I finally got it."

"Uraraka-san, you're right. This is delicious!" Yaoyorozu's eyes lightened and she radiated an aura of excitement. It was quite adorable.

Tokoyami contently chewed his muffin, his eyes closed peacefully. Suddenly, a dark shape came out of his stomach and shaped into claws and a head. Discreetly, Shoto and I tensed and readied ourselves to fight. It was an instinct born from Enji's tortures— _ehem,_ I mean trainings. A few seconds later we relaxed.

"Hey, Shizuka, it's really good!" Dark Shadow said. Next to him, Tokoyami glanced at Dark Shadow with a frown, "Be polite, Dark Shadow."

"I don't mind it, really~" I grinned, "Dark Shadow, right? Since you call me Shizuka, can I call you _Kage_ (shadow)?"

He grunted, the area of his cheeks looking suspiciously pink, "Whatever, as long as you brought us anymore food, preferably fish."

"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami scolded.

"What?!"

"So fish is both of your favorites? I'll remember that." I grinned. With a hmph, Kage disappeared back into my friend's stomach, leaving said friend to apologize for Kage's rude behavior.

"It's okay, Tokoyami-kun. I think Dark Shadow is very cute." Ochako grinned.

"Yes, he is kinda like a tsundere, isn't he?" Yaoyorozu hmmed.

"Besides, I'm glad you both like my muffin, Tokoyami."

"Muffin?" A head full of pink hair suddenly appeared from the seat behind me, "Where did you get a muffin?"

"Wait, someone said desert?" Kaminari popped out from the table next to ours.

"Ashido-san, Kaminari-san," Yaoyorozu greeted.

"Did you make them, Midoriya-chan?" Ashido asked, eyes hopeful.

"Yeah... I have enough for our class. Do you guys want some?" I asked bashfully.

"Of course!" was echoed by our whole class in the canteen.

I promptly exploded into a mess of red.

.

.

"I AM... GOING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"

Which, of course, wasn't normal no matter which angle you look at it, but that's All Might for you. He was extraordinary in the good way.

The class fell into an awed chatter as the no. 1 hero made his way to the small podium, which in Yuuei was the same as a teacher's table.

"I teach Fundamental Studies," All Might started, "It is a subject where you train in different ways to learn the basics of being a hero. You'll get the most units out of this subject."

We nodded seriously.

"Let's get right into it! This is what we'll do today—" He paused for a weird pose, "COMBAT TRAINING!"

Combat... Training? I paused as my mental alarm started going off. Ah... crap.

Isn't that where Izuku and Kacchan had their first big fight?

"And to go with that are these!" Four rows of metalic boxes went out of the wall, each box displaying a large number going from one to twenty. I assumed it was categorized by our absent number. "From the requests you sent in before school started. After you change, gather in Ground Beta!"

"Yes, sir!"

As a class, we went to the changing room together. Yaoyorozu, Ochako, and I walked together with the rest of the girls to our room. Ochako and Yaoyorozu instantly fell into a conversation with the rest, but I was mostly quiet. My mind kept going back to the canon and how it became: a disaster.

We arrived to Ground Beta —the place I took my practical examination at— along with the boys. Shoto looked as awesome as he was in the story, but there was an unexplainable chill to him. The smile he directed at me was warm though, so maybe that was my imagination all along. Along with Shoto's plain awesomeness, there was also Tokoyami, who looked mysterious as if he was a dark prince of sort.

"You looked mysterious in a good way, Tokoyami," I managed a twitch of lips.

Tokoyami, clearly concerned, said back, "Your costume looked practical, it fits you well. Uraraka's and Yaoyorozu's looks amazing, as well."

I couldn't help but blush at that. My costume was a sleeveless black bodysuit with dark green stripes. On my wrists and ankles were medium-sized metal bands, and I wore a pair of green low boots with thick soles made of durable materials. There was also a high-tech transparent visor on my eyes and a small comm on my left ear connecting to the button-sized tech right at my heart. It tells me if my heartbeat was going too fast, for a precaution Yagi had me installed.

I was satisfied with how amazing and professional it came out, _but_ embarassingly enough, the bodysuit was _skintight._ It showed off my curves too much for my liking.

"Ah, it's embarrassing... I forgot to write the material for my costume, so they made it skintight..." Ochako smiled sheepishly.

I frowned, "I told them I want a durable material, but I guess skintight fits my description?"

"Don't worry, Midoriya-san, Uraraka-san, Yuuei most likely choose the best material that fits your Quirk most."

"Ah, you're right, Yaoyorozu-chan."

I leave the others to their conversation and turned to the most quiet in our group. My eyes examined him again, and grinned when it landed on the left of his face which was covered in ice, and even the grey eye had red button on it.

"Rebelling against your father?"

"I couldn't just lit up my right side every single time," He said dryly, to which I smirked.

 _Enji would've pouted if he saw._

From the front, Yagi grinned. "Before we start, let me remind you all: from now on—"

My lips twitched upward.

"— _you are heroes_."

.

.

"Now, it's time for combat training!"

Iida, dressed in a knight-like costume, raised his hand. "Sensei! This is a battle center from the entrance exam, so will we be conducting urban battles again?"

"No, we're going to move ahead two steps," He raised two fingers, "Most of the time, fighting villains takes place outside, but if you look at the total numbers, atrocious villains appear indoors at a higher rate. Imprisonment, house arrest, backroom deals—

"In this society filled with heroes, truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows."

All for One... what an excellent example of a true villain.

"For this class, you'll be spilt into villains and heroes and fight two-on-two indoor battles."

"Without basic training?" Asui inquired.

"This is a real battle to understand those basics! However, the key this time is that there's no robot you can just beat up." He reminded.

"How will wins and losses be determined?" Momo asked from beside me.

"Can we beat them up anyway?" Bakugo growled.

"Will the punishment be expulsion like with Aizawa-sensei?" Ochako asked worriedly.

"How shall we be split up?" Iida raised a hand again.

"Isn't this cape crazy?" Aoyama showed his sparkling purple cape, and in a rather scary unison, the whole class pretended he didn't speak.

All Might was getting overwhelmed by each question. I blinked, a flash of amusement went through my green eyes. First class, Yagi-san?

Nevertheless, I took pity on him.

"Oi." Everyone turned at my firm voice, "I'm sure All Might-sensei will explain everything we need to know. We should listen to him first, and if there are things we don't understand, then we ask."

"You are right, Midoriya-san! I apologize for being so hasty, All Might-sensei!" Iida bowed stiffly.

The class murmured sheepish apologies, and All Might sent me a discreet relieved grin. I allowed my lips to quirk in a teasing half-smile. Hmm, it seemed no matter what form, Yagi was always as adorable as a golden puppy.

"The situation today is that the villains have hidden a nuclear weapon somewhere in their hideout," He explained, "And in order to win, the heroes have to either found and touch the nuclear, or capture both villains with the tape I'll provide later. However, as long as the nuclear is safe and at least one villain remains until the timeout, then the villains win. Of course, the villains are also given the capture tapes, and if they capture both heroes, then it's also a win."

It's to the advantage of the villains then, I mused, they have many leeways. Either way, I'll have to win.

"Teams and opponents will be determined by drawing lots!"

"They're being decided by random?" Kirishima asked, surprised.

"Pro heroes are often required to create makeshift teams with heroes from other agencies in times of emergencies," Shoto explained quietly.

Yeah... He winced as we glance at each other, We clearly remember one particular occasion where it didn't work out.

"Ah... I see, so teamwork is important for heroes too, after all. Thanks, Todoroki-san!" Kirishima grinned, Shoto nodding quietly.

Team A: Uraraka Ochako and Todoroki Shoto

Team B: Bakugo Katsuki and Midoriya Shizuka

Team C: Aoyama Yuga and Shoji Mezo

Team D: Tokoyami Fumikage and Iida Tenya

Team E: Ashido Mina and Sato Rikido

Team F: Hanta Sero and Toru Hagakure

Team G: Yaoyorozu Momo and Kyoka Jiro

Team H: Kaminari Denki and Tsuyu Asui

Team I: Koda Koji and Kirishima Eijiro

Team J: Mineta Minoru and Mashirao Ojiro

Shoto glanced sharply at my paling face, but I was transfixed to the enthusiastic figure of All Might who continued on.

"The first teams to fight will be... these teams!

"Team B as heroes vs. team D as villains! Do your best!"

.

.

Villain team was given five minutes to choose their hideout in one particular building, while hero team was told to wait outside the building and strategize. The rest and All Might went to monitor room.

Before leaving, Shoto had given me a frown, his eye hard. _Are you going to be okay?_ was what he said. I managed a nod and a smile that felt fake even to me, _i'll be fine, don't worry._

Being the great best friend he is, Shoto had glared at Kacchan in warning before leaving behind the fuming blonde. Unfortunately, that left me to an angrier Kacchan.

 _No time to waste._

As soon as everyone was out of sight, I warily approached the blonde. "K— Bakugo... um, I'm aware that you don't like me... and we don't have the greatest relationship, but can we work together professionally just this time?"

Red eyes full of hatred were shot to me, and I flinched. "Oi. Just because you actually have a Quirk, and somehow managed to get into Yuuei, doesn't mean you can boss me around, _Deku._ "

"That's not what I meant," I said quietly, "I do'm just asking you to be willing to work together. I might be perspective and good at strategies, but that doesn't mean I won't include your opinions and suggestions.

"...Bakugo, _please._ "

His shoulders tensed visibly, shadow hiding his face from my pleading eyes. " _You._.."

"Please, just this once! I-I'll stay out of your way after this, I won't bother you again I swear, I—" I clenched my fists tightly, "It's just... this is my chance. To show it to everyone, to All Might, that I'm strong. I don't want to lose... I want to _win_."

 _Please._

 _You_ _, of all people, should know how it feel to want to win._

"Fuck no."

I swore my heart skipped a beat at that moment, and not in the good way.

But, Kacchan continued on. "I don't need your fucking promises about avoiding me, you're _going_ to do that. But you _owe_ me one, don't fucking forget it, Deku."

...w-what? what is even this?!! Is this real?! Am I in hearing it right?! Kacchan... The angry Kacchan... really say that...?

"Yeah, I won't forget, K— Bakugo!" I beamed.

"Stop fucking talking, Deku. We need to strategize—"

" **Are you ready, heroes, villains? Your five minutes are over! So ready or not, your twenty minutes battle starts...**

" **NOW!** "

.

.

 **Word Count: 3333**

 **Sorry for the slight delay, I was struggling to write the last part. Hope you enjoy this like I do! xxxx**

 **p.s. I change Todoroki Hitomi to Todoroki Rei so that it fits Canon. I've changed Natsuo's, but I forgot about Rei, so thank you to** Reige **for reminding me~**


	9. —but still in a maze

.

.

 **ix.** _...but still in a maze_

.

.

 _Now?!_

"WHAT THE HELL! THAT WASN'T EVEN THREE MINUTES!" Predictably, Kacchan had blown up to All Might through the comm, fire in his eyes.

" **Your five minutes is up, Young Bakugo.** " All Might said sternly, " **You can stay still in your place and discuss your strategy, but the longer you do so the shorter your time to act. Remember, you only have 20 minutes — and it's 19 minutes now.** "

"Shit," Kacchan gritted his teeth in frustration and turned to me, "Let's go now, Deku! We'll discuss our strategy on the way."

"Lead the way," I told him, and followed.

We entered the building. From the outside, it looked like a perfectly normal five-stories building, but the inside-walls were gray in colour and cold to touch. It must be a metal of sorts. Right after we passed the door, we found out the inside was just an empty maze. There was nothing to be seen, except for pillars and metal walls. It was cleverly built for causing confusion, and no doubt searching for the way to stairs will cost us precious several minutes.

We weren't lucky, to get chosen first.

If we were chosen at least on second turn, we would have an idea of the surroundings and more time to strategize. The only advantage of being first is that our enemies have the same disadvantages as us.

 _Now, we can only use impulsive strategies and instinct—_

A grin grew on my face.

I'd found the key to our victory.

.

.

Roughly about two minutes passed while we were wandering the first floor, according to Deku.

We've got about 17 minutes more to do our job.

Katsuki risked a glance from the corner of his eye. A year had pass since he and Deku last saw each other, and it hadn't been a nice goodbye either. Cold shoulders, evading eyes, and silence. It was all they ever do to each others since ten years ago.

Deku changed.

It was clear to him who always looked down to Deku the Quirkless; talentless, useless, a liar, can't even fulfill a promise. She's everything he hated, everything he wasn't. And he was glad for it. He was glad that, as they grew up, the differences between them became more clear. And soon when her fifth birthday passed, the rumors and talks about her Quirkless status spread.

 _"She's a Quirkless?"_

 _"Useless."_

 _"Trash."_

 _"Why don't you just kill yourself."_

People liked to talk about unnecessary things, and gossiped on whatever they could. Deku was one of their middle school's favorite. The way she stayed silent and acted like she didn't hear made the rumours grow worse. Spineless, was what he thought, even though he saw the quiet strength in those green eyes.

But people don't change that easily.

Deku was still the same Deku, at some aspects.

Stupid, _stupid_ fucking Deku.

Right after this battle finish, Katsuki was going to ignore her. Pretend she didn't exist like he always do.

But now, now he was going to beat others into pulp first (and possibly had Deku accidentally fly to his fist).

And motherfucker, she better not forgot that fucking favor.

She wasn't one of her word, after all.

His ears caught the faint approaching footsteps, about two turns away, and a savage grin took over his face.

 _Dead meats, here they come._

.

.

Once we took another turn to the right, my eyes met with the red irises of Tokoyami. In an instant, my body tensed and Kage rushed to us. I jumped away, Kage hot on my heels. From the corner of my eye, I saw Kacchan jumping away as well, but I didn't have the time to make sure.

Kage's attacks were restless, humongous claws swiping at me right and left. His mouth pulled into a savage grin not different from Kacchan's, and I had to wince. His claw caught my calf, blood spraying to the floor. I made a big jump to my behind, panting as I touched the wound. _Shallow_ , I noted with relief.

While I fell back for a moment, Kacchan had covered for me and was goading the shadow being with explosions. It was part of our haste plan, and I had to say this with pride: it was working.

When we first entered the door, I thought that we could only do with impulsive plans and instinct. The word _instinct_ triggered my mind.

Because, who's instinct is better, than Kacchan himself?

Our opponents were Tokoyami and Iida, both very logical persons. They were very smart in their own ways, and perspective in Tokoyami's, but that doesn't change the fact that their brain works the same way that _I_ do. The thing that differentiate us, was the fact that I'm used to thinking outside the box. They _didn't._

I concluded that either both of them were going to attack us, or Tokoyami attacking us while Iida guarded the missile. But Kage's weakness was light, and Kacchan's explosions were bright. So, their tactic must be—

A blur went straight to me, light glinted on the silver metal. It wasn't so fast that I couldn't see, but enough to overwhelmed me for a second.

 _Move!_

I threw myself to my right, shoulder hitting the wall roughly as I felt it bent slightly under the pressure. Iida stopped himself a few feet away from me. Too close for comfort, but I couldn't step away without possibly inviting him to attack again. It was safer when I could see him clearly.

"Iida-san, you're faster than I expected," I greeted, eyes never straying away from his figure. For a second, I could see Kacchan slowly cornering Kage and Tokoyami as they tried to cover up their weakness.

"Hero, you're lucky... I will not make the same mistake twice," Light glinted on his glasses, and suddenly Iida seemed looming and... well, scary in a funny way. He _really_ become a villain. "However... You are not my target."

And then, in the same manner of speed, he ditched me.

... _I took offense on that, Iida-san._

I sped after Iida, One for All rushing in my right arm. As soon as I was close enough, I punched him on the face. Iida had turned at the last second, and was fast enough to evaded it narrowly. The wind from my attack knocked him away further.

"Your opponent is me, Iida!" I shouted, a step away from him, my left leg swung toward his.

He side-step it, and instead went for his own kick which I jumped and punch him in the middle of my twirl. It grazed his head guard, knocking it off and revealing his face. Iida gritted his teeth, "Tokoyami-san!"

They switched.

"Outta my way, you fuckin' Four Eyes!"

"Your opponent is me now, hero! Don't underestimate me!"

"What a loud bunch," I muttered to myself as I dodged another swipe of Kage's claw. He growled, jumping at me from the high with claws ready at his side. My eyes widened, and in a moment of panic, I lost control of One for All.

Kage was blasted to the wall, the ceiling he was a second ago blasted. The sun shone from above, and debris were falling around us.

"Wha— shit, the roof's gone with a punch?" Kage asked incredulously.

"What power..." Tokoyami said, a bit breathless. "You are strong, Midoriya-san. However... You can't defeat us."

" **Ten minutes left!** "

"Let's go, Iida-san!" Tokoyami yelled.

"Yes!"

"What— COME BACK HERE YOU FUCKING FOUR EYES I'M NOT DONE—!"

A few seconds later, Iida was gone with Tokoyami on his back, Kage having retreated to his stomach.

They left us alone.

"They're trying to draw it out," I mused.

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE. First, that Four Eyes stopped me from beating fucking Bird Boy, and then he RAN away with Bird Boy. I'LL KILL HIM!" Kacchan stomped his way to the stairs.

"I'd thought they're going to keep attacking us, but they must've realized they've no advantages against us on the combat side."

"I'M GONNA KILL FOUR EYES!"

" _Hai_ , _hai_..."

.

.

"You can put me down, Iida-san," Fumikage spoke quietly.

"Of course," Iida said, putting Fumikage down to his feet.

Fumikage looked at his surroundings. They were already at the third floor thanks to Iida's speed, and nearing the stairs in case they need to run again. Running was never his favorite strategy, but it was the only way they stood a chance against such powerhouses.

Midoriya, for all her small stature and gender, was fearsome in battle. From what Fumikage had observed in their Quirk assessment test, the green-haired girl have a quick mind as well as a quick feet. She was perspective, like him, and logical as well. Doubled that with her strength Quirk that was akin to the no. 1 hero himself. This far, he'd only seen her using it on her hands, but he wasn't willing to rule out the chance that she could use it everywhere like All Might.

Bakugo Katsuki had ranked first on the practical examination. He was a fierce and short-tempered, with an explosion Quirk. His Quirk was rare and strong, but the disadvantage was how flashy it was. The sounds weren't quiet either. Bakugo might seemed just an angry teen with flashy Quirk, but Tokoyami knew it wasn't all the requirements for entering Yuuei. He must be smart as well, though how smart was the question.

Nevertheless, Tokoyami and Iida were confident of their obvious weaknesses. Their strategy depended on them.

Iida and him shared a glance and a nod, "We only need to hold them off for six minutes more."

"To be honest, I'm still uneasy about leaving our missile alone, Tokoyami-san. Perhaps I should check it for a second...?" He said.

It was an entirely valid question, and something he himself relate to. He, too, wasn't happy to leave one of the keys of their defeat so unguarded, but they couldn't spare someone to guard it. And what luck that they didn't, because Midoriya and Bakugo worked surprisingly well together.

But, perhaps—

A big explosion headed straight to them, with a speed faster than even Iida.

"DODGE!" He shouted as loud as he could, frantically throwing his body to the left and away from the incoming danger. The explosion hit the stairs behind them, leaving them as crumbles and broken metals.

 _Our escape way is gone,_ Fumikage tried to think clearly while his eyes scoured amidst the grey cloud of dust, Dark Shadow ready to come out the second he needed him to _. But they also just destroyed their chance of finding the missile._

 _So_ _, the only option left—_

He stood grimly as the cloud dispersed.

 _—is to fight._

He found Iida, looking slightly dazed near the right wall, but fine. He saw Bakugo, approaching them with a huge sadistic grin on his face.

"Now you can't fucking run away," He said.

 _How— no, if Bakugo is here, then Midoriya—_

Right out of nowhere, a very strong wind hit Iida and Fumikage in their slightly dazed state, and the next thing Fumikahe knew was that he was blown away and fell to his bottom, Iida not looking any better a few feet away. _Where?!_

And there she was, flying — no, _jumping_ from the floor below them to theirs through the hole on the floor she'd just punched air through.

 _I've miscalculated,_ Fumikage thought grimly, Dark Shadow ready at his side. He'd predicted that Midoriya would use her Quirk the same way All Might does, considering her obvious admiration and similarity in Quirk. But instead, she used her strength to, essentially, control the wind. Not directly, but indirectly.

 _She's clever,_ he thought, _more than I thought._

"Dark Shadow!" He yelled.

The mass of shadow rushed to the girl who just landed next to his partner, making a grabbing motion, but Midoriya had just punched Dark Shadow right on the stomach. While they were recovering, Midoriya had advanced to Fumikage in a rush.

" **Five minutes left!** "

 _Just a bit more...!_

"Bakugo!" Midoriya yelled. On the other side of the room, her partner growled, a big explosion following, "I got it!"

Fumikage realized that his sentient Quirk was angry now. He was never happy to lose, and they were admittedly at a disadvantage right now. Midoriya's stamina seemed to have no end.

"HAAAAAAAAA!"

The attack that followed was so big the wind had curled together around her air punch and became a makeshift of a small tornado. And it was heading straight to _him._

Dark Shadow tried to shield him while he tried to dodge, but there was nowhere to do so. He was _cornered_ , behind him was the ruins of the stairs.

The attack hit hard even with Dark Shadow as his shield, and Fumikage was thrown to the wall hard enough to know there will be bruises on his shoulders and back after this.

His eyes closed in fatigue.

 _I have to... get... up_

A warm hand touched his softly, and Fumikage's yellow eyes instantly shot open. Kneeling in front of him, was Midoriya.

"Midoriya... what...?"

Around his body, was the capture tape.

He'd lost.

" **Villain Tokoyami Fumikage has been captured!** "

.

.

Tenya panted a bit, trying to control his breathing before the hero, Bakugo, noticed how he was tiring. The helm was gone so there was no means of covering his tired face.

 _How_ _scary_ , he thought, eyes locked in the blonde's form. Even though his enemy was sweating heavily, he didn't even slow down. Tenya was attacked with explosions left and right, and his engines were nearly overheating. Still, Bakugo kept pushing forward with a huge grin and no hesitation in his steps.

" **Five minutes left!** " All Might-sensei said.

From the other side of the room, heroine Midoriya yelled Bakugo's name, and Tenya's opponent growled a magnificent one. Instantly recognizing danger, Tenya jumped behind.

 _Boom!_ The big explosion rocked the ground for a second, and Tenya could feel sweats dripping down.

There was a loud yell from his partner's side of room, followed with a near violent wind circling on the room. Tenya raised a hand, turning his head just in time to see Tokoyami being blown away to the wall, Dark Shadow retreating after having protected him. "Toko—"

His face was blasted.

"YOUR OPPONENT IS ME, FOUR EYES!"

Tenya's eyes widened at the explosion he could see gathering on Bakugo's hands.

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!"

 _BOOM BOOM!_

"Villain Tokoyami Fumikage **has been captured**!"

With a last burst of strength, Tenya ran to his opponent, a hand shielding his glasses from the restless blows.

 _This is our last chance...!_

Mid-run, Tenya froze in place. His eyes had widened in surprise and had turned to Bakugo in shock.

"How...?"

And then, he fainted, the engine on his back and calves having been heated by Bakugo's strategized explosions. And he hadn't even realized.

" **Villain Iida Tenya has been captured! Hero Team** **WIN!!!** "

.

.

The monitor room is a large, slightly circular room filled with five screens on a side of wall. Chairs were situated in the control panel under the screens. It was a typical one. All Might stood in front of them, looking to where it displayed the front of the destroyed building where robot helpers were moving Shizuka, Iida, and Tokoyami to the nurse room. Bakugo was walking to their place.

"Woah... Bakugo and Midoriya are monsters!" Kaminari said, his eyes staring wide at the prove of distruction.

"Such strength..." Kirishima said, "They're so manly!"

"But I feel bad for Tokoyami-kun and Iida-kun though," Uraraka frowned, "They nearly made it."

"Midoriya's arm is broken, isn't it?" Ashido spoke with a sympathetic wince, "And she fainted right after they win."

"Yes, but if you look at it closer, the villain team kinda out-matched, aren't they? Bakugo and Midoriya both clearly have combat Quirks." Sero rubbed his nape.

"Yes! That might be right, but there are often situations where a hero is up against a villain with a Quirk that outclassed his/her. But as a hero, you must find a way to beat them, even in their own elements. There are always a way out for everything." All Might explained.

The door opened, and Bakugo came with a fierce scowl in his face. He looked irritated at something, but that didn't deter his classmates go confort him.

"Bakugo! You did great back there!"

"Yeah, you're pretty amazing!"

Shoto paid them no mind, his fists clenched tightly as he stared at the screen of the rubbles of the building. Shizuka... after she captured Tokoyami, she'd fell next to him and fainted. Judging from the nasty purple of her arm, it must be broken. She'd used her Quirk so many times too. Tokoyami himself had looked surprised and panicked when she fell.

Shoto lowered his face, his teal eye glowing beneath the shadow. _She's too careless._

They reviewed the battle together. Even though Villains lose, Iida ended up as the MVP. As explained by Yaoyorozu, he played his role well. His attacks are calculated, and he use his advantes to the maximum — meaning that he knew his power is in speed, so he did his best to dodge Bakugo's attacks and draw out the time. His concerns on the weapon was right, as unguarded the weapon could be found out anytime by the enemy. The fallout of him was that he was tiring in the end, and was overwhelmed by his enemy's attacks.

The next battle was Team A vs. Team I.

Shoto nodded to Uraraka, "let's make this quick, Uraraka-san."

" _Hai_!"

 _I'm worried about that idiot._

The second he step in, Shoto told Uraraka to stay back and then proceed to freeze the whole building. Uraraka floated next to him, and a few minutes later both found themselves on the nuclear room, Kirishima unfrozen with Quirk. Koda, though, couldn't move from his position next to the nuclear.

Kirishima readied himself to attack, but Shoto had already froze him from his neck down. Uraraka touched the nuclear, "Retreived!"

" **Hero team win!** "

With a sigh, he put his left hand to Kirishima's frozen body, steam slowly unfurling from the ice. The melted ice turned into a hot shower.

"I'm sorry, but the difference in our power is too big." He spoke calmly to Kirishima.

 _Besides, I need to hurry._

.

.

When I come to my senses, the first thing I could see was a pair of lips.

"H-h-huh?" was my intelligent question.

Recovery Girl stepped back with a serene smile, "Ah, you're awake. Your right arm was broken so I had to use my Quirk to speed the healing. It costs you your stamina, however."

"Ah..." _So that's why I suddenly feel drained._ "Thank you, Recovery Girl." I murmured, "Do you have any energy bar or milk?"

Both were the best way to heal my hunger until I could get my hands on solid food. She was surprised, but shook her head. "Unfortunately, I don't. But here, take a candy."

"Thank you..."

"Shizuka, you're awake!" a blonde came through the door with a smile.

"All Might!" I said, grinning.

"Here," he offered the plastic bag I hadn't saw he have, and inside was three boxes of various favored milk.

"Thank you." I eye-smiled.

"You're welcome." He replied, "After you've truly recovered, you should go home. School has just ended but I believe your class was given the assignment to review the battle results by Aizawa-sensei."

I turned to the window, where soft hues of orange and red came through from. The sun was fast setting. I'd missed the whole afternoon, it seem.

"Tokoyami, is he okay?" I asked, suddenly remembered the boy who I'd blasted with One for All so recklessly. I hoped he was okay.

"He's fine," Recovery Girl said, "his back and shoulders had bruises but I'd healed them. He's back to class already."

 _I'm glad..._ I curled my fist. _I don't know what to do... if I'd hurt him with this power. I should apologize to him._

"Young Iida was also brought here with you, but he woke up an hour ago and insisted to go back to class." All Might explained, and laid a calming hand on my shoulder.

I nodded. Iida fainted too? What did Kacchan do?

In his real form, All Might was as scrawny as person could possibly be. But sometimes, there was the charisma, and unexplainable aura around him that drew people. And right now, with his hand on my shoulder and a smile on his face, his blue eyes _shone_ with his strength.

"Shizuka... I am _proud_ of you. You did very well, more than I'd thought." He said.

Unbidden, a blush colored my face.

"Thank you, Yagi-san."

 _Thank you for everything._

.

.

Ten minutes later, I was heading to my classroom.

The classroom was on the other side of the building, so I had to pass the front door.

I halted to a stop.

 _Kacchan?_ It was him. His back to my face, and sunset dusting the sky... somehow, this was familiar.

"K— Bakugo?" I shouted.

His shoulders tensed, and he walked faster. Confused, I ran after him, trying to stop him for a moment, the milk I was sipping was thrown to a trashcan.

"Hey, wait!" I said.

"Stop fucking chasing me." He growled deeply.

"No, wait, I just—"

"Shut up, Deku," he turned slightly, face shadowed, "You said you'd leave me alone. You can't even keep to your word once?"

 _What?_ I looked at him wide-eyed. _Where did that come from?_

"Bakugo—"

" _Leave me alone._ " He gave his back to me and continued walking.

"What's up with you—"

"SHUT UP!"

I flinched when he turned around, face full of rage and red eyes glaring daggers at me as if _it's my fault, it's my fault, everything is my fault_.

"Even from the start, you..." he gritted his teeth.

"...I, what?" I asked quietly, "Bakugo... I'm sorry if I bother you, but... I was just going to give you this. Here..."

In my outstretched palm, was a chocolate milk.

"As a thank you." I said.

"When I was watching the ice guy, I thought, _I couldn't beat him_." He said.

 _"The difference in our power is too big."_

"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" His fists clenched tightly in his sides, blue veins bulging.

"You... I don't need you, Deku. So _don't_ underestimate me, don't look down on me, damn it! I'll win next time, I'll win with my own power! I don't need you!"

He looked up, and I felt my eyes widened.

He's _crying._

"This is my starting line, do you hear me?! I'll win by myself next time!"

And he left me, alone in the sunset, my hand still holding the milk he hadn't take. I couldn't stop myself from gazing wide-eyed toward the closed entrance of Yuuei.

 _Kacchan..._

( _it was his start line, but it was also the moment that make me realized..._

 _maybe i never know him, this whole time._ )

.

.

 **Word count: 3971**

 **Whoops, what is this, another update?! Hehehe, I was too excited for the fight scene and ended up working on this right after I finished ch. 8 yesterday. Here, a treat for you guys~ I love this, so I hope you do too!**

 **On another note, I'll try to write at least min. 4k words per chapter! xxx**


	10. chances thrown, nothing's free

**GUEST: oml i know i wrote it "two eyes" at first but i've fixed it. i thought no one would see lol im sorry for my stupidity ugh. also, thanks for telling me! i tend to get similar words messed up, even in my native language hehe**

.

.

 **x.** _chances thrown, nothing's free_

.

.

 _Hey, wait for me!_

 _"Huh? Why are you calling me?"_

 _...What do you mean? We know each other._

 _"Are you sure? You haven't even seen my face."_

 _Turn around then! I'm sure I'll remember when I see your face_

 _Remember? If that's what you wish, but don't be disappointed when you can't._ "

 _I'll remember!_

 _"...Do you?"_

 _...I... I... who... a-are you?_

 _"I told you—"_

 _Your face..._

 _Where... is your face?_

 _"— **you won't remember**."_

.

.

I woke up with cold sweats and clammy hands, breathing hard through the scent of sun rays, bird chirping from my window. The little alarm clock in my desk blared with bold red numbers.

07.30. There was still an hour before school start.

"Ugh..." I cracked my neck painfully. "I fell asleep again?"

With a sigh, I stood and took my underwear to the bathroom, preparing myself for another day at Yuuei. Yesterday was the second day of school, and we already had a combat battle training. There was a Fundamental Studies today too, so something interesting was bound to happen.

The door clicked shut behind me.

The little journal left open on my bedside, the drawing of a large circular building and devil wings next to it, alongside with a brain. The word _USJ_ highlighted. The page drifted closed with a gentle wind from the open window.

.

.

I hurried along the 10 minutes walk to Yuuei, my unruly hair twisting and tangling further than it usually is, but I have no time to worry about that. I'd nearly fall asleep at the shower and now I was very nearly late.

 _There was still 3 minutes... I nearly make it—_

I stopped short when all of a sudden, reporters and cameras surrounded me from all sides. _Crap_

"Excuse me, can you tell us what it's like to be taught by All Might? What's he like in class?" A reporter asked eagerly, practically shoving her mic to kiss my lips as I tried to step back.

"Um, I-I'm sorry. I— could you please... just..." _get out of my way so I won't be late for class?!_ I wiggled frustratedly. The mass media didn't budge an inch.

"Is All Might as amazing as a teacher as he is a hero? Tell us!" She grinned.

 _No I won't, you hag! Can't you just let me go?!?_ I yelled inwardly.

"Well?"

"I—"

"That's enough." A firm voice sounded from beyond the little cage they made for me. It was Aizawa-sensei, standing in front of Yuuei entrance with all his scruffiness glory. I nearly jumped in happiness when I saw him glaring at the surprised mass media.

They must've recognized that he was a teacher, and soon I was left by myself as they went to him.

"Sir, does All M—" the annoying reporter stopped short, and her eyes bulged at the attire my homeroom teacher always wear. "You're a mess! Who are you, anyway?!"

 _Seriously?_

Aizawa made a shoo-ing motion with his hand, obviously unimpressed. Distantly, I recalled that he become an underground hero because his distate of media and how they interfered with his hero works.

"He's off today. You're interrupting our classes, please leave." He glowered at me, "What are you waiting for, Midoriya? Get in here now."

I yelped. " _Hai_ , Aizawa-sensei!"

I ran to his side, slowing down once I'd entered the entrance. Aizawa-sensei turned his back on the media, walking without a care next to one of his students. Behind us, the pers kept yelling.

"We'd like a direct interview with All Might!"

"I feel like I've seen him somewhere..."

"Hey, don't you think you're too scruffy?!"

"Come on, we'd just like to ask All Might about—"

 _Beep._

 _KLANG_

I jumped at the sudden noise of metal, and was able to get a peak at the infamous barrier of Yuuei, the one that ensured their students and staffs' safeties. It was even more amazing up close than what I'd seen on the internet.

Aizawa-sensei swiftly turned my head around without a word.

"Waaahh! What the hell?!" A distant voice yelled behind it.

"Yuuei barrier, huh?" I mused. _Is it really as amazing as it looks, though?_

"Walk faster, Midoriya, you're already 5 minutes late."

" _Hai_ , _hai_..."

.

.

"Good morning." Aizawa began to the silent class.

Awkwardly, I made my way to my chair as quietly as possible, grinning sheepishly to anyone who looked my way. After I've seated myself, Shoto turned to me with a raised eyebrow, Yaoyorozu next to him with nearly identical expression. It was a bit eerie, to be honest. Ochako (bless her heart) smiled cheerfully at me and waved briefly as to avoid Aizawa-sensei's attention.

My luck was so rotten today that Aizawa-sensei saw anyway.

"You're already late today, Midoriya. At least listen when I'm talking." He said with a straight face.

 _Ouch,_ I winced. My teammates sent me pitying looks. _He must be irritated from the media._

"I'm sorry, sensei." I said.

He narrowed his eyes on the class before continuing, "Good work with yesterday's battle training. I've looked over your grades and evaluations."

He turned to Kacchan, "Bakugo. You did better than expected, but it's still not enough. Grow up already. Stop wasting your talent."

"...Got it." Kacchan replied.

"And Midoriya," I blinked when he suddenly narrowed his gaze to me. "You settled it by breaking your arm, huh? And you faint before the battle was even over. Learn to control your Quirk, because just trying _isn't_ going to cut it. You have potential, it's only a matter of whether you're capable to harness it or not. No one need a hero who can't even protect themself."

"I understand." I replied softly, even though his words struck me hard.

 _"You have to learn to protect yourself before you can even think to protect others."_

 _Can I really control it in time?_ I gripped my table hard enough that it hurt.

 _Danger is approaching_ _soon._

"Now, onto homeroom business... Sorry for the sudden announcement, but today we're going to—"

 _—take another brutal test?!_

"—pick a class president." Aizawa-sensei deadpanned.

"A completely normal, school-like thing!" The whole class exploded in happiness. It was no wonder, remembering the first day where we thought one of us were going to get expelled.

Kirishima stood, "I wanna be a president, lemme do it!"

"Me too!" said Kaminari.

"I'd like to do it." Jiro said without any enthusiasm.

"The position was made for me—"

"I wanna be a leader!"

"In my administration, girls will have to show 30 cm of thigh!" Mineta yelled with a perverted expression.

"Pick me!" Kacchan, too, yelled angrily from his chair.

It was expected that everyone showed great enthusiast toward this. For us future heroes, to be able to require such an important position would mean a better record, because heroes are those who can lead others well.

That was to say, not all of us were interested even if that.

Shoto and I were the prime examples.

Next to me, Shoto had already put his head in his desk, correctly anticipating the long process this choosing would follow. He even yawned. Sighing from the loud noise (they were such loud energetic bunch), I proceeded to put my head on the desk as well.

"Leading the many is a task of heavy responsibility... but ambition does not equate to ability. This sacred office demands the trust of it's constituents! If this is to be a democracy, then I put forward the motion... That our true leader must be chosen by election!"

I bonked my head on the table accidentally, in loud enough sound that everyone turned to me. Iida, stunned, asked if I was alright. That was the line. I burst out laughing until my stomach hurt, and soon others started chuckling as well.

 _Iida_ _was... Iida was so funny! H-he... hehehe... he said all that with completely serious face while from the start his hand was raised the highest! And those hand wavings... Oh god... hehehehe..._

"Iida... you..." I snickered helplessly, "don't ever change, you got it?"

"Huh?" He asked.

 _He's so unwillingly comedic that I couldn't help it!_ I grinned. _Those are always the funniest._

Up front, Aizawa-sensei sighed miserably, as if we were causing him headache. "Do whatever you guys want, just make it quick." And then he fall down the floor in his yellow sleeping bag.

Where'd he hide it anyway?

"But we haven't know each other long enough to build any trust." Asui stated.

"And everyone will just vote for themselves!" Kirishima said.

"That's precisely why anyone who manages to earn multiple votes will be the best-suited individual for the job!" Iida replied.

 _Wait... this... doesn't this end with Izuku as the class president in canon...?_ _Hell no. No way am I doing all those works. Things have started to change but I'm_ not _risking it._

"Hold on," I voiced. "To make it easier for us, shouldn't we not be able to vote for ourselves? Then it'll be known who exactly we thought the most suitable, instead of just having half-hearted result."

"I agree." Tokoyami nodded.

"Me too!" Mina grinned.

"Good idea, Shizuka-chan!" Ochako gave me a thumb up.

"In that case, I choose Midoriya-chan." Yaoyorozu smiled at me, and I smiled back—

"Wait, _what?!_ " I hissed. "Why?!"

"WHY DEKU?!?"

Yaoyorozu blinked, a hint of amusement in those glittering eyes of hers had me scowling in complete offense. "Because I thought that you're the most competent leader in this class. Yesterday, you managed to not make only an effective plan, but you also are observant enough to predict correctly how Tokoyami-san and Iida-san will react. Besides that, you're a reliable and responsible person. I believe you'll lead us well, Midoriya-san."

A few people agreed with her, while I pouted at how accurate Yaoyorozu had gotten me. _This is exactly what I'm avoiding!_

"But... I think Iida-kun is the best one for this!" I said. "He's efficient, logical, and responsible. He's smart. He's the one who suggest this from the start anyway, and he managed to get the attention of us all even when we're fighting each others. It's also clear he's the one that want this the most. Why not entrust this to him?"

 _Instead of a poor student like me._

"Thank you so much for your faith and trust in me, Midoriya-san! I won't betray it!" Iida bowed.

"I believe in you, Iida-kun!" I grinned.

"Yaoyorozu's explanation yesterday's cool too. She's very smart, responsible, and reliable as well. I think she'll make a great president."

"Todoroki-san's amazing as well, but he doesn't seem interested in this..."

 _Nope. Considering said person is sleeping right now._

And so, the election officially start.

"Wait, _what?!?_ "

The result... it was 6 for Yaoyorozu, 7 for me, and 7 for Iida.

"Eh? It's a tie?" Ashido blinked. "Then who's going to be the president and vice?"

"Well, like I said I voted for Iida." I shrugged.

"I voted for Midoriya as well." Iida admitted, lights shining in those eyes of his in excitement at possibly getting the position.

"Then, can I give the position to Iida-kun? I'm fine with being vice or even nothing at all." I told the class. "I'm not really confident in myself to lead you all..."

 _The work is also kinda dready..._

Ochako and a few others made a noise of understanding.

And so, it came to a close.

Class 1-A now have the Iida Tenya as president, and Midoriya Shizuka as the vice.

.

.

The lunch break went like a flash.

The cafeteria was as crowdy as usual, considering that nearly all of the students chose to eat in this place instead of the class or somewhere else. Ochako, Yaoyorozu, Shoto, Tokoyami, and I sat in the same table as before, but today something was different.

"Iida-kun! What are you doing?" Ochako raised a hand in greeting, smiling as brightly as always.

"Uraraka-san. Nothing, I'm just searching for my friends' table." He answered politely.

"Shoji's table?" Tokoyami asked. "He isn't in yesterday's table because some upperclassmen managed to snag it first."

"Is that so..." Iida trailed, pushing his glasses as he scoured the whole room.

"Iida-kun, why don't you sit with us? The break time is going to be over before you found them in this crowd." I invited, patting the empty seat on my left.

"Are you sure, everyone?"

"Of course it's okay." Yaoyorozu assured.

Shoto calmly spared Iida a glance before going back eating. "I see no problem, Iida-san."

Tokoyami and Ochako nodded.

"T-thank you! Midoriya-san, Yaoyorozu-san, Todoroki-san, Tokoyami-san, Uraraka-san!" He bowed before taking a seat I gestured to earlier.

I sweatdropped.

"That's so mouthful, Iida-kun. You can call me Midoriya or Shizuka, you know. I don't really like honorifics."

And before we knew it, lunch nearly came to a close when—

 _VREEEEEEEE!!!!_

A loud alarm blared.

" **Security level 3 has been broken. All students, please evacuate in an orderly fashion.** "

Nearly everyone jumped to their feet and ran. My friends and I exchanged a look before Iida stopped a rushing upperclassman. "Excuse me, but what is security level 3?"

"It means someone's infiltrate the building! It hasn't happened in my 3 years here. Anyway, you too hurry up and get outta here!"

 _Someone... infiltrate Yuuei?!_

In an instant, we stood up.

 _I'm forgetting something... I'm sure I do. But... what is it?!_

"Shizuka, let's go!" Shoto took my hand and followed after our friends.

The doors leading to the hallways were crowded. People were pushing left and right in their desperation to get out. Some even fall and get trampled. I yelped when someone hit me, separating me from Shoto. I couldn't even see anyone else that I know.

I was left alone, in the middle of strangers pushing.

Suddenly, a harsh shove came from someone behind me and I lost my footing, falling when someone else took a firm grip on my shoulders and pushed me until my back hit the window.

"Ouch... Thank you... Are you okay?" I looked up to a boy about my age protecting my front with his body, his hands still gripping my shoulders as people pushed to go through us.

"Of course I'm fine! I can harden my body into steel. Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine, thanks again. I'm Midoriya Shizuka, class 1-A."

"Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, class 1-B! Do you know—"

"Everyone!" A loud yell made everyone looked up. Iida was standing above the emergency exit sign, hanging on to a pipe. " _EVERYTHING'S FINE_!"

It stunned everyone silent.

"It's just the press! Nothing to panic about, we're fine! This is Yuuei! Behave in a way befitting of this great institution!" He yelled.

Even in those ridiculous pose, clearly uncomfortable and nearly falling, he managed to look so cool. He managed to make everyone, even strangers and upperclassmen, believe in his words.

"His sincerity is amazing..." I smiled.

"You know him?" Tetsutetsu asked.

"Yep, that's my class president!"

.

.

"Now for today's basic hero training. All Might, myself, and one other will supervise." Aizawa-sensei said.

"Sensei!" Sero raised his hand. "What are we doing, exactly?"

"Earthquake, fire, flood — we're preparing you for them." RESCUE, written boldly in the card on his hand. "It's Rescue Training!"

"Rescue, huh? Sounds like another rough day." Kaminari sighed.

"Right!" Ashido chirped.

"Come on, this is what being a hero's all about!" Kirishima grinned. "I'm pumped!"

"I'll be right at home in flood, _ribbit_." Asui stated.

 _Rescue... Training...? Hmm... My heart's speeding up? What's this?_

"Hey, I'm not done." Aizawa-sensei glared, and took a small remote from the teacher's table. "It"s up to you whether or not you wear your costumes, as some of them are ill-suited to this sort of activity. The training site is a bit remote so we'll be going by bus. That's all. Get ready."

 _Lubdub. Lubdub._

 _I..._

 _What... is happening to me...?_

.

.

"Are you okay?" Shoto slid next to me as we make our way to the circular building, Aizawa-sensei leading the way.

I startled out of my thoughts, blinking up to the concerned face of Shoto. "Ah, I'm fine, don't worry." came out automatically out of me.

Ah... Is it bad that you have such thing? Is it bad that "I'm fine" comes automatically when you have nothing else to say? No... What am I even thinking? It's fine — it's fine, why am I dizzy? I'm fine?

"Shizuka!"

My eyes widened. Shoto's hands were grabbing my shoulders tightly, clearly having yelled at me. Aizawa-sensei turned a bit, but fortunately the others were too busy in their excitement. I smiled at him, trying to reassure him that _I'm fine, nothing to worry,_ and it seemed to work.

"Before we start, I have one or two words... or three... or four... five... six..." Thirteen trailed.

"Let's talk about this later, okay?" I gently lead his hand from my shoulder.

Shoto exhaled. "Alright."

"As I'm sure many of you are aware, my Quirk is called "Black Hole". It can suck in and tear apart anything." The rescue specialist started.

"And you've saved countless people from all sorts of disaster!" Kirishima grinned. In front of me, Ochako kept nodding in awe.

"Indeed..." Thirteen stared his gloved hand.

"However, this same power could easily kill. There are some of you with the similar ability, right? In our super-powered society, the use of Quirks is heavily restricted and monitored. It may seem that this system is a stable one...

"But we must never forget that it only takes one wrong move with an uncontrollable Quirk for people to _die._ " He quietly said.

 _This Quirk..._ I closed my eyes. Kacchan, Shoto, Kirishima, Kaminari, Ashido, even Ochako... every Quirks have the potential to kill. So... It's up to us on how we utilize it, huh? Is that what differentiate us with villains?

"During Aizawa-senpai's physical fitness test, you came to learn of your own hidden potential. Through All Might's battle training, you experienced the danger that your respective Quirks can pose to others." He explained. "This class... will show you a new perspective! You will learn how to use your Quirks to save people!

"Your powers are _not_ meant to inflict harm. I hope you leave here today with the understanding that you're meant to _help_ people. That's all! Thank you for listening." He bowed.

"Bravo! Bravo!!"

"He's so cool!"

"He's right..." I smiled breathlessly. _This gift... more than anyone else, I know how precious it is._ "First Aizawa-sensei, then All Might and Thirteen. Has your father ever been this motivational?" I nudged Shoto playfully.

His lips curled up a bit, "he's the exception."

 _Swirl._

 _Wha—_

 ** _Danger_** ** _danger dAnGER GET OUT OF HERE—_**

 ** _R_** ** _A N NOW NOWNOWDANGERISHERE!!!!_**

A high-pitched scream rung painfully in the closed building. As if someone was tortured. I hadn't even realized I open my mouth until people were crowding me in worry.

"Give her space, everyone! Midoriya, what's wrong—"

"S-Sensei!" I choked out through the white noise ringing painfully in my brain. "D-Danger, danger! Get out of here, we need to g-get out—"

 _Sssssssshhhhh._

In front of the fountain in the middle of the training facility, a black smoke twirled bigger.

A hand came out of it, then another one that covered a face.

An eye glared at us.

The next second, the black smoke — _portal_ — grew larger and countless people ran out of it.

Weapons, sadistic eyes gleaming with malice intent, everywhere.

"What the heck's that? More battle robots? Like during the entrance exam?" Kirishima squinted his eyes.

"No..." I whispered.

"Shizuka?" Shoto asked quietly.

"Don't move, everyone! Those are VILLAINS!"

Aizawa-sensei tensed his body, yellow glasses perched at his nose.

 _No..._

"Thirteen and Eraserhead, is it?" The black smoke had ensembled into some sort of a guy with mutant Quirk. "According to the staff schedule I received, All Might is supposed to be here..."

"Where is he...? We've come all this way... and brought so many playmates... All Might... The symbol of peace... is he here...?" The man covered in clay hands said.

"I wonder if some dead kids will bring him here...?"

 _NO_

"A-Aizawa-sensei!" I yelled hoarsely while Shoto helped me gain my balance again. "We need to evacuate... hurry...! Those guys... they're _dangerous_!"

"Wait, sensei, aren't there intruder sensors?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Of course there are...!" Thirteen answered.

"Are they only here, or also at the main building?" Shoto mused grimly. "Either way, if the sensors aren't working... It has to be one of their Quirks doing it. This place is far from campus, and they picked a time when there'd be fewer people here. So maybe they're not as dumb as they seem. They must have an objective, because this is a well-coordinated sneak attack."

Our classmates were stuck in horrified silence.

"Thirteen, begin evacuation! And try calling the school! One of these villains must be jamming the sensors, there's a good chance one of their electric-types are causing the interference." Aizawa-sensei said, eyes never away from the still flooding villains. "Kaminari! Try using your Quirk to signal for help."

"G-Got it!"

"I will stall them until backup is here." He said.

"No, sensei!" I yelled. "Listen, I have a bad feeling about this! That hand-man... he's no ordinary villain! I—I don't think fighting them is a good idea—"

"Midoriya." The firm tone stopped me.

"Calm down. Backup will arrive soon enough. You and Iida, lead your friends as far away as possible from here. Thirteen will protect you all." He gave a half smile, before it was smothered by his serious expression.

 _Right... Calm down... I need to calm down..._

 ** _DANGER._**

"At least... don't go near the brain-monster one, and don't let the handman touch you. I-I just have a feeling. Trust me, sensei." I whispered desperately.

 _No... I won't let it happen, no, Aizawa-sensei...!_

With a brief nod, he jumped right to the crowd of villains.

"Shizuka-chan, let's go!" Ochako urged me.

Next to me, Shoto's hands still gripping my arm and shoulder tightly. I was glad for him. He was my reassurance that everything was fine, he was here... His warmth told me everything that he didn't say.

We were stopped short not ten steps later.

"Greetings!" The smoke-guy said. "We are the league of villains. Forgive our audacity, but today we've come here to Yuuei... with one objective in mind... To end the life... of All Might, the symbol of peace..."

 _Lubdub. Lubdub. Lubdub._

"We were under the impression that he would be here today... But... it seems his schedule is reversed?" He paused. "Well, no matter. My role remains unchanged."

The black smoke — _wasp,_ a voice in my mind whispered — spread out in front of us, threatening to swallow us whole.

 _Boom!_

Kacchan and Kirishima attacked the villain in unison, grinning. "Not if we end you first!"

"Betcha didn't see it coming!"

"That _was_ close... Yes, though students you may be, you're the best of the best."

 _Sssshhh._

"No! Both of you, get back—!"

"SHIZUKA!"

A hand reaching out for me, trying in vain.

Teal eye wide with fear.

I smiled.

 _It's okay. I'll be fine._

We disappeared.

.

.

 **Word count: 4056**

 **Uwaaa im so sorry! Originally i plan on making this a 5k but it ended up too short. the ending's just too good to miss out y'know... hopefully ill be able to make the next one and next and next longer!**

 **Please please don't forget to review xxx**


	11. i don't play by the rules of the game

**hi guys!** **i just wanna say: thank you sooo much for 300 favorites and near 400 follows!! thank you for those who favorited and followed moi too~**

 **the amount of comments make me sad tho ;_;**

 **here's** **the 5k chapter i promised...**

.

.

 **xi.** _i don't play by the rules of the game_

.

.

Useless...

 _I was so fucking useless._

I gripped the bent pipe tighter. Rain kept pouring like crazy, as was fitting of this zone's name, and it made the pipe even more slippery. I couldn't hold for long anymore, but I wasn't more confident of One for All, to be honest. On top of unable to fully control it, I was afraid it'd only done more damage.

There were just too many possible ways of this going wrong. If I let go and tried to use One for All, I might fail and ended up breaking some bones at worst condition — thus further negativing my chance to stay alive. Or I might succeed and ended up losing control and broke my legs, while destroying the buildings and attracting the villains. But, of course, if I didn't, a villain might find my hanging form soon. My losing grip was an indication it won't happen.

I can't wait for anyone to rescue me, so there was only one option left. And I wasn't exactly eager to use it.

But beggars can't be choosers.

I let go.

A strangled scream sounded from the ground to my right. My eyes bulged at the sight of a rock-like head waving his arms in panic soundlessly. "Koda?!" I yelled.

 _Wait, this isn't the time for that!_ I mentally hit my head on an imaginary wall. _I'm falling, I'm fucking falling, One for All—_

I shut my eyes in fear. The ground was only a few feet away and I have no time to activate One for All, much less use it. My arms automatically went to protect my head because, well, at least I won't die if my bones broke right?

The impact never came. Instead, I felt my body hit something wet (but where in this forsaken zone that wasn't slippery or wet anyway?). Tentatively, I opened my eyes.

And let out a blood-curling scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

Because, softening my fall and where I was laying just a moment before, were an army of giant rats and ants. And you know what? I could even see some worms in between.

Of course I'd jump as fast and far as I could from them. Which was, behind Koda. To his credit, he worriedly and guiltily fidget in his position as my meat shield. I was shameless enough to sacrifice him to the animals while I ran for my life.

Fortunately, that didn't happen. Once I got back my senses, I let go of my death grip on his costume. He went to whisper to the animals and they went back to the ground or inside the buildings.

 _Right... If I wasn't wrong, his Quirk allows him to talk to animals..._

I grimaced. _Still, that was a nasty experience. Ugh, this day wasn't turning any better_ _, was it._

Regardless, I went to Koda's side. "Koda-san, we need to go to a safe place. The villains must've heard my shout earlier." I sheepishly said. Koda, bless his kind soul, give me an understanding smile and follow me without any objections.

We passed by some villains wandering around, cursing to themselves about Yuuei kids, while we head out. Some had grotesque costumes and menacing weapons, but I knew for a fact that they were nothing more than street thugs and amateurs. Aside from my knowledge — _which I'd forgotten until now, how did I manage that?!_ — which I'd berate myself for later, I could see the way some bumbled with their weapons or the shifty way they scoured their surroundings.

They'd be no more than an annoyance to a pro heroes, but to us? They might be too dangerous.

Koda and I were all too aware of that fact, and went out of our way to be as stealthy as possible. We took no risk, and patiently wait for our chances before moving. It took about ten minutes before we arrived at a safe zone, inside of a ruined building. We hid in the underground room, with debris covering us from the downpour raging outside.

"Koda, can you use your Quirk to search for our classmates? All eighteen of them. And can you find out how many villains there are in this zone?" I inquired, and he nod shyly. He went to the corner and started to whisper quietly. I couldn't really hear what he was saying, but a moment later, there was ants crawling out. They weren't as big as the ones that caught me, but big _and_ red enough to had me scooting away slightly. Their bites must really hurt.

The ants went scurrying away, and I asked as soon as Koda went back to sit near me, "What did you tell them to do?"

Koda fidget hesitantly. I softened my eyes. "Koda-san, am I really that scary to you? Is that why you never talk to me, even in class?" _I've been told I came off as stoic and even intimidating sometimes..._ "I'm sorry... That's never my intention."

Koda frantically shook his head, as if to assure me I wasn't. He mumbled something so quiet I couldn't hear a word.

"Koda-san? I couldn't hear what you said..."

"...ry."

"Eh?"

His cheeks pinked. "...You're not scary... I-I'm just... shy... I'm sorry, Midoriya-san. I-I'm not... used to talk... I-I mean..."

"I get it, Koda-san!" I grinned. "I'm glad you're not. But we'll be classmates for three years, so please try to be more open to us? Oh, you can call me Shizuka for starter!"

His face exploded in a mess of red. I could practically heard his brain short circuited.

"Uwaahh, Koda-san!"

"Y-y-yes..."

 _Did I take it too far?_ I took a look of his red, but not unhappy face. _Nope!_

 _But I should stop now..._ "Koda-san, we're all your friends now, so don't hesitate, okay? We'll all be happy to have you as a friend."

He bowed his head, the sheen of red didn't seem to be disappearing soon.

 _He's so cute, though._ I smirked.

 _But we have more pressing matters._ "Koda-san, I have a plan to defeat the villains, but..."

He glanced questioningly at me. I took a deep breath. "As soon as we're done, I'm going to run to the plaza. I have faith in Aizawa-sensei, but there's just too many villains on that place. No doubt the warp guy and their boss are going to be there, too. Aizawa-sensei is only one person — he can't handle everyone on his own."

For the first time, I saw him frown. "B-but M-Midoriya-san, you might... um... become a... liability to sensei... if you just r-run in like that..."

I smiled at his concern over me. "I know... but, I won't be going there alone, Koda-san. The others must've realized the same thing as I did. K-Bakugo and Shoto at least will be going there too. I can't just let them fight alone."

Koda nodded, his eyes trailed the cold ground thoughtfully. "...B-but... Midoriya-san... what about the others?"

I let out a surprised breath. "The others... I've forgotten about them... That's right, not all of their Quirks are suited for direct combat..."

"S... Shouldn't we help them first?"

I balled my fist. _I was too concerned about Aizawa-sensei and the League of Villains... I forgot about the others. In Canon, they all survived just fine, but... things have changed, haven't they? I was supposed to go to the flood zone, but I ended up in the downpour instead._ _Then... what happened to those in the flood zone, and those supposed to be in this one?_

 _No — what happened to the others?_

I made up my mind.

I gave Koda a determined nod. Unknown to me, my eyes were shining an unearthly green, making my classmate breathless for a moment. "I'm confident in their abilities, but if they're outnumbered or at a disadvantage, we'll go help them."

 _As much as I want to help the pros, I_ _have an obligation to my classmates first._

"So here's my plan..."

.

.

"CATCH THAT BRAT!"

I turned around to give them my tongue, before focusing back on my running with a wicked grin. "Keep wishing, grandpas!"

"Who're you calling old, you fucking brat?!" came from behind me, along with other protests and curses.

"Certainly not me." I muttered under my breath, taking a sharp left without breaking my run. The sounds of footsteps indicating that the villains weren't letting me go that easily.

A sharp sound broke the wind from behind me, and I threw my body right in time to dodge the axe thrown right where my head was. It would undoubtedly kill me if I kept running, so bless Enji and his sadistic teachings. Never thought I'd actually be happy about it.

But no matter, I pick myself up a second later and run again.

I managed to push myself past the limits, in order so that no villains would be able to catch up, but the down side was that my limbs got tired quicker than usual. Already, I was panting. The icy rain and sharp winds weren't helping at all.

 _Just a little bit more..._ I turned right.

And was met with the sight of towering brick wall.

"Shit." I cursed out loud, scanning desperately for a way out. Unfortunately, the spaces between buildings around me were too narrow for a person to pass through. The villains must knew that too, because they chortled.

"You're cornered, girly!" A bulky man with rusty, ragged blade grinned. "No way to run now!"

"Whatcha gon' do, huh?" Another mocked.

"You'll pay for calling me old!"

"Is that so?" The corner of my lips curled up.

There were about twenty villains closing on me. Behind them, was my only way out. I was cornered, and they knew that too. In their eyes, they must've seen a scared little girl, cornered and about to die.

That might've been true, if there was only me in this zone.

"Sorry for this."

The villains didn't have enough time to wonder about my words. A second later, ants, rats, bugs, and other insects the number of army attacked from behind them. There were loud shouts of confusion and terror. It was a chaos and they were pushing their partners left and right. Naturally, they went my way.

Fortunately, I'd jump high enough with One for All and landed on a building's roof.

"It's working." Koda said quietly, in awe at the sight that our plan was working.

The plan was for me to make a loud enough noise to attract all the villains on this zone, and directing them to a dead end at the same time. I had to be believable that they won't suspect anything. Everything relied on Koda.

And it worked out perfectly. Koda had manage to gather lots of animals and the villains were cornered and scared. Some even fainted or cried. We finished it by knocking out those who didn't faint. I was grateful I'd learn those useful spots in human bodies enough to apply it now.

"Koda, have you finish gathering the information?" I asked, as we walked to the direction of out. An ant leading the way ahead.

Koda nodded, still shy around me. "Yeah... Umm, earlier... the ants told me that everyone is still in here... but... they're scattered... and fighting... Someone even managed to run out... they're probably calling for backup..."

I hummed. "Iida, then... Did you do what I told you?"

Koda nodded again. "The ants... and rats... were heading to help the others that are still fighting."

That was good enough for me. Coincidentally, we had arrive at the door out. The ant ran away, leaving the two of us alone.

"M-Midoriya-san... I-I won't be of help with you... but, I'll try helping the others in the entrance." He stuttered out.

I smiled. In the range of half an hour, Koda'd improved so much. At least, in front of me. But improvement was improvement nonetheless. I hoped he'll remember my words.

"Alright. Be careful, Koda." I told him.

"Y-you too!"

.

.

I was greeted with a gruesome sight.

There he was, in the middle of the plaza, standing casually as if he was a man minding his own business in a public place. His pale violet hair waving slightly from the easy breeze. I couldn't see his face nor his expression, but I could guess he must be _thrilled_ right now. Even though there was no more pawns left standing around, he was still winning.

Because, right in his feet, was a pro hero, bent and broken and bleeding.

And I couldn't stop myself from tensing, and gluing my eyes on my teacher. Limp black hair tainted with blood and cascading down to cover half his head. Body held down harshly by a humongous creature whose brain is visible — _Nomu_ , my brain whispered. Limbs looking broken and bent in the way they shouldn't be. Blood on the floor around him and beneath him was a pool of crimson, red liquid. His clenched eyes twitching in pain.

Right now, Aizawa-sensei looked like he was dying.

 _He can't_ _be_. My big eyes teared up. _He — shouldn't be, right?_

There was a faint hissing sound before the warp villain appeared. "Shigaraki Tomura," he greeted the violet-haired villain.

"Kurogiri. Is Thirteen dead?" was all Shigaraki had to say.

"He was incapacitated. But there were some students I couldn't warp away... and one of managed to escape." Kurogiri answered apologically.

 _Koda's didn't meet him then. He's safe._ "Huh... Huuhh..." Shigaraki looked down for a moment, before lifting his head and mumbling rather negatively to himself. I couldn't hear it, but then he spoke to his partner loud enough. "We won't stand a chance against dozens of pros. It's _game over_ , man... it's game over _for now_."

He sighed disappointedly. "We're leaving."

And paused on his track suddenly. "But... before that..."

He was moving! Running, towards _me_ , and he was fast as hell. Faster than I was used to. I tries to pivot on the balls of my feet and nearly lost my balance. In that moment, Shigaraki had stopped right in front of me, a hand stretched out to my face and this time, I wasn't fast enough to avoid him.

The realization made me pale. _His Quirk... is Decay. He crumbles anything he touches with five fingers into dust._

 _I-I'm... going to die..._

His fingers brushed my face gently, like a mother cradling her precious child's face. It gave me creeps. And this close, I could see a crimson, bloodlust red eye gazing at my green ones with pure cruelty. "Let's wound... the pride of the Symbol of Peace... with some dead kids..."

His five fingers closed in my face, as I stared up, petrified, at this terrifying villain. The bloodlust radiating from him made me nauseous.

But nothing happened.

Shigaraki turned to where he was before, setting his eyes on the bundle of black that'd lift his head determinedly on our direction. This far, I couldn't see his red eyes, but I knew he activated his Quirk on Shigaraki.

I wasted no moment, and sent a hasty punch that hit the hand-man's stomach — causing him to back a little. I was four large jumps away from him in a couple of seconds.

"Eraserhead..." Shigaraki smiled. "You really is amazing..."

A faint _slam!_ was heard from the center of plaza, and I allowed my eyes to stray from the villain to see Aizawa-sensei, being slammed down by Nomu to the already cracked floor, sending fresh blood spurting. The cracked floor sent some pieces of marble flying out from the force of the hit.

"...What an annoyance." He continued, his smile disappearing to reveal his true feelings. When the pro hero's eyes closed and he apparently fell unconscious, the violet villain turned his focus back to me.

I unintentionally flinched.

"Oi... Kurogiri..." He shifted his eyes to the entrance, where many of my classmates were. "I changed my mind... let's warp to there. I'm going to kill at least half of these kids."

I understood the implication. My body reacted a second later.

"Don't you dare touch them!!" I shouted out, a punch heading right to the villain. One for All shining through my hand as my thoughts flied rapidly.

 _I can't — I WON'T let him touch them!_

"Nomu!" He called out, and my hand connected to a hard flesh of black. I hadn't even saw the experiment move. One for All let out of my hand, but he didn't even move back a little, nor flinch. He stood steady and straight like he was some unbreakable wall.

Beady, empty black eyes stared blankly at me. The only telltale was the slight shift of his hand, but by the time I realized, it was too late.

Nomu had already moved, and it was right at me.

"Aagh..."

I hadn't even blink before he swipe me off my feet, literally. His hand clutched my neck with no remorse, my legs dangling uselessly a few inches away from the marble floor. If he felt pain or bothered by my desperate clawing on his arm, he gave no indication.

"Thank you for volunteering, brat." Shigaraki gave me a crazy smile from Nomu's right. "All Might might even cry a little at your funeral, if he's still alive."

I choked. The hand around my neck tightened. My eyes startes to grow black spots and I was aware of the sensation of suffocating on top of everything.

 _I... really am going to die..._

 _"No, please don't leave me. Don't."_

( _It felt unreal... Am I dead? Am I alive? Is this even real?_ )

The hand stopped.

"Hey, let go of Midoriya!" A vaguely familiar voice yelled out from behind me.

Someone clicked their tongue, and I could feel fire passing next to my cheek, right before an explosion sounded. Nomu stood without any harm, looking as if Kacchan hadn't blast him at all. Hot air trailed aimlessly as my childhood friend stared, disbelieving and surprised, at the creature holding my life in his single hand. Kacchan dived out of the way just in time to avoid the hungry fingers of Shigaraki, causing him to let out an irritated breath.

Next to Kacchan, was a red-haired boy with skin as sharp and strong as a rock. _Kirishima_. He panted, with an uncharacteristically serious expression. He must've attacked Nomu too, because he was now staring alternatively at the experiment and his hardened hand with disbelief.

A sudden blast of chills was my only clue of what was about to happen.

Ice covered the floor in a brief moment, locking Nomu in place. Shigaraki, Kacchan, and Kirishima had jumped out of range just a second before the ice hit their standing place. "Oi, Todoroki! A little warning next time would be appreciated, you know!" Kirishima called out.

In a moment of selfishness, I was glad that my best friend was here.

Then Shigaraki turned his eyes on him, and a entirely different feeling surged inside me. Nomu dropped me harshly to the ice-covered floor, but I didn't have time to mull over the bruises that undoubtedly would grow all over my body tomorrow morning. My eyes were terrified and locked to the heterochromia boy that was so, so amazing and that I love very much.

He hadn't been a story's character to me since a long time ago.

Nomu moved towards him in a near blur, ripping the ice holding him in place with brutal power, and all I could see was the image of Aizawa-sensei. But instead of him, it was Shoto.

( _And he might never wake up anymore._ )

Unacceptable.

 _But I'm not fast enough._

There was a ringing in my head, as I watched my best friend getting punched on the stomach. Shoto doubled over, but didn't relent on his stream of fire and ice. None bothered Nomu. _He really is scary._ There was a distant blast from behind me, but I couldn't look away from Shoto.

I have an odd feeling inside me, that now wasn't the right time to move.

"OI! You fucking villains!" Kacchan yelled. I turned to see him and Kirishima, holding down Kurogiri from a metal acting as a part of his cloth. His purple mist useless and unable to get him out. "Let go of Half n Half bastard, or I'll fucking destroy your escape way."

"How...?" Kurogiri uttered out in disbelief.

Kirishima grinned. "If you don't have a body, you wouldn't have said 'it was close' before."

Kacchan scoffed. "It wasn't that hard to figure out."

Shigaraki paused.

Then he started to scratch his neck with his nails, over and over again while mumbling and sighing to himself. The scratching only got worse and faster by the seconds.

Finally, he stopped.

And said a single word I was starting to hate.

"Nomu."

I reacted faster than I thought possible.

Kacchan, Kirishima, and Kurogiri were positioned behind me, and Shoto and Nomu in front of me. Shigaraki might be a boss villain, but he was surprisingly predictable.

I let go of One for All at it's full capacity.

My fist connected to the rushing Nomu, and finally, I managed to affect him. If only blowing him back, but it was a success nonetheless. Behind me, I could hear Kacchan's curses and loud exploding noises.

My eyes widened when I saw a flash of violet passed by right next to me.

 _It was a decoy?!_

I turned around in panic, just in time to see Shigaraki, reaching out at Kacchan whose eyes had widen. Next to him, Kirishima yelled out his name. It was echoed by my voice.

"Bakugo!"

"Kacchan!"

The ash blond raised his hand upward, ready to blast the approaching villain.

 _But he shouldn't have, because he can't allow Shigaraki to get close. Shigaraki's Quirk—_

No one else knew about his Quirk.

The realization made my heart race even faster.

Like a slow motion, I watched as Shigaraki's dry hands dangerously neared my childhood friend's neck, while Kacchan himself readied himself for a large explosion.

A hard hand smacked unto Shigaraki's unprotected stomach, sending him away unattractively. Kirishima grinned.

But in that moment, while Kirishima and Kacchan had both raised a hand, Kurogiri managed to topple them and warped away in a blink of eyes.

A warm hand touched my elbow gently, and I relaxed without anymore prompting. I didn't need to glance up to recognize him. His left side radiated a subtle heat as he stood silent and vigil on my right.

I spared myself a moment for eye contact, and was relieved to see the answer in them.

 _"I'm alright."_

I warily turn my eyes on our surrounding. Far on our right and front, near the flood zone, was Nomu, standing imposingly tall. He was the farthest, but I wasn't delusional enough to believe he won't be here in a second. In front of us and a bit to the left, were Kurogiri and Shigaraki. On our left and steadily approaching our side, were Kirishima and an irate Kacchan.

We were right back at the beginning again.

None of us move, as Kacchan and Kirishima stopped on my left. We were too busy waiting for the other to make the first move.

One mistake, and it could turn the whole favor to the other side.

A rustle whispered from my left, and a sudden warm breath startled me enough to have me nearly jumping. "I thought I told you not to call me that anymore." Kacchan growled on my ear.

 _What...?_

Then it hit me. In the heat of panic, I'd accidentally slipped out his childhood nickname that he apparently despised.

I mumbled. "This isn't the time for that, Bakugo."

And maybe not ever, because I didn't want to hear him raging.

He opened his mouth to say something, when the entrance door was thrown open with an echoing bang.

"FEAR NOT... FOR I AM HERE!" All Might said.

His words resounded throughout the whole facility. The unyielding voice, the demanding presence; it all commanded the rest of us to look at the hero no. 1. What a charming, magnetic person — even in his teacher garb, he looked very dangerous.

And _vengeful_ , because for once... he wasn't smiling. Instead, his teeth was gritted in a resemblance of grin, his brows furrowed. It was disconcerting, because All Might _always_ smile.

But it was just another reminder that he is Yagi Toshinori too. A human being.

My teacher — the awkward, adorable, insecure skeleton-man I'd come to love.

( _Another person I could lose._ )

We thought his arrival guaranteed our survival, but it was a catalyst instead.

It was as if a trigger was pushed inside Shigaraki's head. When everyone was stunned by the Symbol of Peace's arrival, he charged right at us.

Maybe it was desperation, maybe he knew this was his last chance, who knows. At the end, he decided to attack.

Nomu followed, while Kurogiri called out an alarmed, "Shigaraki Tomura!"

His eye blazing a hateful, crazy red, he sped to me. A skinny palm opened. All four of us tensed.

A bulky hand stopped the hand with a tight, painful grip.

"I WON'T LET YOU HURT ANY OF MY STUDENTS AND COLLEAGUES AGAIN!" All Might bellowed out, dust still swirling from where he'd made a sudden jump.

"All Might..." Shigaraki gave a crazed mumble. "Hero... aren't you a little late?"

The implication behind his glance toward Aizawa-sensei wasn't lost to any of us. All Might gazed sternly at the villain. "I won't let you hurt them anymore." He repeated with a vaguely painful expression.

"Heroes... you're all annoying... And you... All Might, most of all. You grated on my nerves." He used his remaining hand to scratch on his neck again. "...Nomu."

The pawn made a running attack at All Might, who casually deflated it to the right with a hand — only to find out he couldn't. Nomu was a resilient bastard, and All Might had just realized that too. Nomu readied another punch aimed to the blonde's face, and he was forced to let go of Shigaraki's hand when the violet-haired man's other hand reached out to close on the hero's wrist. All Might winced as another punch managed to grazed his ribs.

"All Might... Meet the bio-engineered creature... designed to _kill_ you... _Nomu._ " Shigaraki grinned, as Nomu and All Might kept swapping punches. No matter how much punches All Might hit Nomu with, he wasn't deterred. Instead, All Might was. "No matter how much you hit him with, he won't be affected."

All Might grinned. "Shock absorption then?"

Energy I recognized as One for All crackled on his right arm, as he readied to punch.

"DELAWARE... SMASH!"

Dirt and smoke billowed from the force of his punch, forcing us to move back a few feet. When it finally cleared, my eyes widened.

Nomu wasn't affected at all.

Instead, he was making a quick grab at All Might, tightening his hands on the sides of his body in the process. All Might wasn't able to move.

Next to me, Shoto stomp his feet on the ground. Ice rose and froze Nomu on it's place, narrowedly avoiding All Might.

A purple mist opened below All Might and Nomu, swirling threateningly.

I growled, and pulled back a finger. "Oh hell no, I don't think so."

The wind force I expelled had Kurogiri dodging narrowedly out of the way, making him to lose focus on the portal. I wasted no time, rushing forward to get in front of Kurogiri, where Aizawa-sensei laid limp.

"Kirishima-san!" I called.

"Yup?"

Behind us, Nomu crowed and Shigaraki continued his monologuing. Ice cracked. "This is _hyper regeneration_. Nomu is a super-powered living sandbag designed to withstand everything you've got!"

"Take Aizawa-sensei to the others!" I shoved the black-haired male to my classmate as gentle as possible, wincing as the blood made a faint dripping noise. "I'll protect you!"

Kirishima opened his mouth, but he must've seen something in my face, because he closed it and grinned instead. "You're so manly, Midoriya!"

"Um, thanks, I guess."

Wind blew harshly from the direction of All Might and Nomu, mussing up my hair. "Go!" I yelled, and Kirishima quickly hightailed it out from here.

All Might was restlessly sending punches after punches to Nomu, who didn't even struggle to catch up. Each punches glowed with the power of One for All. Some met with Nomu's fists, but others didn't.

"A hero's always ready to smash his way out of trouble!" All Might grinned. "Tell me, villains... do you know the meaning of—"

A critical hit, harder than the others, sent Nomu flying straight out of USJ. "—PLUS ULTRA!!!"

It was a clear difference that we saw about pro heroes and us. Not just the power, but the kind of mentality they have were still so far away from ours.

 _We were just kids, playing as heroes._

All Might, bleeding slightly, grinned. "Well, villain? What will you do now?"

"You _cheated_...!" Shigaraki scratched his neck. "They said you're weakening... but I can't see that at all. How dare... they lied to me?!"

Smoke started to thickened around All Might. I knew well that was the sign of him starting to revert back, but he tried to act nonchalant with the wide grin.

 _Forcing himself this far... he must be hurting inside._

"Well? Coming to get me? What happened to clearing the game?" All Might taunted, a clear blue eye shining dangerously from the shadow. "If you can take me, then bring it on!"

Within a second, purple mist formed in front of All Might's standing place, Shigaraki next to him.

"ALL MIGHT!"

He wasn't moving away, because he _couldn't._

My feet moved before I knew it. A punch aimed at Kurogiri.

Instead, Shigaraki's hand reached out from the mist.

I redirected my punch to the ground, falling down harshly at the same time. The ground quaked and dust and smoke sent the villains away.

"You brat...!" Shigaraki growled, and ran forward.

Bullets hit him mid-run.

"I'm sorry we're a little late, everyone. We brought everyone we could."

"Iida Tenya, president of class 1-A, REPORTING FOR DUTY!"

And so, it concluded to the end of this.

The villains warped away, even with the efforts of the teachers. Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen were quickly put into an ambulance, while the other teachers and police officers collected the rest of the villains and made sure everyone was safe.

But I wasn't as happy as I was relieved.

I couldn't do anything. _Nothing had change._ I ended up as a liability and had to be rescued the others.

I didn't change anything.

And that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

.

.

 _Fsshh._

A figure was thrown out of the warp that formed inside a low lit bar. The violet-haired man layed on the floor, seething.

"How... dare they lied at me?!" He clenched his teeth. The vengeful glint in his blood red eyes promised retribution for those that wronged him.

"Shigaraki Tomura, calm down—"

"Shut the fuck _up_." Shigaraki hissed. "Kurogiri, call them."

"... _them_?"

"Call _The Aeron_ — _now._ "

.

.

 **Word count: 5411**

 **finally, i finished this chapter~ hullo guys, i know it's been almost a month, but school started about a week after my last update so i didn't manage to finish all and then i kinda lost my inspiration and finally deleted the whole 3k i've written and start this over. and what a great choice that is!**

 **originally, i'd wrote usj the same as canon, with various changing povs. i know, what a useless bland filler chapter. i'm so stupid sometimes.**

 **kinda glad this arc is over and done with! also, i'm working on a new plot and what might be the biggest plottwist in this story. hopefully i manage to make it as amazing as it sounds in my head.**

 **love you guys 3 thank you again and i'll see you soon!**

 **p.s. update will be later than usual bc of school and longer chapters xxx**


	12. the holes of my sweater

**Awesomeness3013:** thank you thank you *bows*! regarding the pairings... hmm, it won't happen soon considering they're all still 14/15. but i'm totally open to any pairings, so keep em coming and we'll see~

 **Prince:** NO WORRIES I WON'T LET MY HUSBANDO AIZAWA DIE. I can't handle it :( also, you'll see hehe ;)

 **Reige:** he won't hate endeavor or todoroki, but what _exactly_ happened to the guy... well, you'll see~

.

.

 **xii.** _the holes of my sweater_

.

.

A hand gripped mine in a excruciatingly tight grip.

I winced noticably, and he let go of his hold, drawing back only to gave me a sharp gaze. "What are you doing here, Midoriya?"

"Um... I'm visiting sensei...?" I rubbed the back of my head. This was turning awkward quick. "I didn't think you'll be awake, much less able to walk around though."

He grunted. Dead fish eyes and the areas around them was the only skin I could see on him. Up to down, he was completely wrapped in stark white bandages.

By logic, Aizawa-sensei wasn't supposed to be doing anything other than sleeping.

I was right, judging from the twitches on his eyes.

He kept his gaze steadfast. "I get that. What I'm asking is _how_ did you get the key? _Right now_ isn't visitor hours yet."

He seemed to know all about it so well, likely because of his experiences in and out of hospitals, but I held back my thoughts. My eyebrow twitched, "Can I get in, sensei? Also, I think you're about to fall."

"I didn't—"

His sharp retort got cut by a surprised gasp and a small pained groan. Thankfully, I was quick enough to catch him before he further injure himself. I slowly righted him, guiding him with gentle hands that trembled slightly (I didn't know where to touch that wouldn't hurt him) while we went to the bed as fast and careful as he could possibly manage. The reluctance and embarrassment practically radiated from him, so I didn't say a word about it.

Soon he was safely back to bed. I gathered the paper bag I'd dropped on my haste to caught him and took a seat next to him.

He exhaled slowly. "I apologize, Midoriya. You shouldn't have see me like that."

"It's okay, Aizawa-sensei." I smiled gently. "You're really hurt because you protected us, and you're human too, so it's nothing to be ashamed of you know. I'm just glad I'm here so I can catch you!"

He raised his unbroken hand and hit his fist to my head gently. His eyes were nonetheless very sharp in reprimanding way. "I _wouldn't_ need to walk and fall if it wasn't for someone sneaking into the room."

 _Even in his condition, he's still as stern as ever..._ _And tired-looking, too..._

"Well? I'm waiting for your explanation, Midoriya."

"Oh! About that..." I blinked sheepishly. "Er, it's actually a little skill I picked up, sensei. You know, how to pick this lock and that lock. If I know you're awake then I would've knock, I swear."

There was a few seconds we spent in silence, staring at each others' eyes in a battle of wills. I tried to widen my eyes in an attempt of innocence and genuine. His eye twitched irritably and I was smart enough to break it. If he wasn't like this, I'd probably run for the hills. The look he sent me was one of exasperation and irritation.

"So you pick locks?" The implication had me shaking my head wildly.

"No! Not like that! I'm not a criminal, sensei!" I told him. "I've only ever use it like thrice, including today. None in any ways of bad intention."

He stared for a few seconds before apparently giving up my sweating self as a lost cause and sighed. He looked every part of a tired teacher.

I laughed sheepishly. "I'm sorry, sensei. I didn't mean to be troublesome... Oh, here!" I revealed the insides of my paper bag. "I brought you peace offering..."

He raised an eyebrow that clearly said _'I am unimpressed'_ before taking out a clear tupperware and a warm canteen from the bag, his eyes lighting up even though he hardly expressed a thing.

"Tea?" He asked.

I nodded. "And porridge with chicken and a healthy dose of ginger. It's the best healing food you'll ever taste, sensei."

He shot me a deadpan look.

I reached out to take the tupperware, stealthily ignoring the possessive way he clutched the canteen bottle. Poor sensei must've missed the real food.

Hm... I wonder...

"When did you wake up, sensei? It's only yesterday you got injured..." I trailed off, absentmindedly stirring the porridge to get the heat off a bit. The outworldly smell made me wanna sniff the air and ate the white substance all for myself.

Still, I sniffed it subtly. It made me drool on the inside.

"You can have it."

I valiantly tried to ignore the blood that rose to my cheeks, and took a spoonful in front of his face.

"Try it!" I persuaded. He sent me a disgruntled look, probably for treating him like I was his patient, before pushing the bandages to reveal his chapped lips and taking a reluctant bite.

"It's good, right!" I exclaimed to the nearly unnoticeable way he brightened up. But then again, I've always been good at watching people.

I gave him more porridge carefully, hiding my fond smile when he gave me a heatless glare once when I didn't move fast enough. Aizawa-sensei was such a softie. We settled down in a more comfortable position once he'd finished, pouring herbal tea to the plastic cups I'd brought. We were silent, as we watched the steam rose from the cups.

"What is it?" Aizawa-sensei broke the silence.

I startled out of my drifting and glanced hesitantly at him, not getting what exactly he was asking.

"What's bothering you to visit me, Midoriya?" He paused. "Is it out of guilt? I'm fine, as you can see, so there's no need—"

"No! No, I mean— that's not why! I—"

 _—know that you're going to be fine — and that is what's bothering me._

 _Aside of my knowledge, there's also an insistent feeling pulsing in my head that drives away all the doubt I manifested._

But I couldn't exactly tell him that — I couldn't, but that wasn't the only thing bothering me anyway.

"...Sensei." I bit my lips. "...Have you ever fail someone?"

He raised an eyebrow, surprise visible in his bandaged face. "Someone that you treasure... your best friend. What would you do, if you fail Yamada-sensei, sensei?"

He coughed on his tea, the sound raspy and so dry I felt myself wince. He calmed a few seconds later as I soothingly rubbed his back.

"Why did you say that?" He glared.

"It's kinda clear that you and Yamada-sensei is close. From the way you interact, I mean." I told him.

He sighed exasperatedly, looking as if he wished to rub the bridge of his nose. "He's more of an irritating mosquito, but I guess he's my... closest friend."

The image of Present Mic as a mosquito buzzing on his ears made me cracked out a grin.

"How did you fail Todoroki?" He asked.

My eyes darted to the cup in my lap, shame and disappointment and anger bubbling inside me as I stare at my green reflection.

 _I didn't move._

The words clogged on my throat.

"What happened yesterday, Midoriya?" The words were firm.

That was all it took for me to burst.

"I — s-sensei, I didn't— I didn't _move._ E-even though he w-was _right_ in front of me I— I— _didn't move—!_ "

The words came out jumbled and entangled with each others. Choppy and frantic, as if I was chasing a bullet train and I had to catch up, be faster. Tears had streamed freely, probably mixing up with my cold tea and I couldn't stop. Nor did I think I wanted to. My chest tightened and my breaths irregular as if there wasn't enough oxygen.

Everything happened too fast and too slow.

Warm arms enveloped me, tugging me into a careful hug. I felt like a fragile thing — one wrong move and I'll break. A hand stroke my back, while the other stroke my hair. "Shh, shh," the hugger whispered in my ear. "It's fine, it's fine, Midoriya. Calm down."

"I f-failed him— I failed _Shoto_! H-he could've gotten i-injured or— or— _died_ just because I didn't _try_ to save him — even though he's right in front of me— I— I—!"

"Shh, Midoriya. It's _okay._ Everything's fine now. Todoroki is fine, you're fine, everyone's fine." He whispered again.

 _But he could be dead right now and it'll be all my fault._

I took a deep breath. _No, enough negative thinking._ The voice started to hum softly, and I felt myself relaxed further.

We stayed for a moment like that, only the sounds of breathing could be heard.

When he started to get awkward, I let go.

"Yamada-sensei... thank you." I said, blushing a bit.

The blonde grinned, in the untamed way that was uniquely his. "Don't mind it, kid! If anything, you should thank Shota. Once you started to have panic attack he'd shouted for a nurse and tried to get out of bed. Completely forgot the nurse button next to him!"

Yamada-sensei laughed himself silly. I glanced at my homeroom teacher, half touched half embarrassed. The soft look on his eyes surprised me, though. I knew he must care for his students from Before, but he'd never admitted to it.

Seeing this, left no doubt in me.

He must be at least fond of us, in the short month we've spent together.

"Thank you, Aizawa-sensei, sorry you had to see that." I said, soft but loud enough that he could hear over Yamada-sensei's laughter. "I... get panic attack sometimes, but this was the first in almost a year."

His eyes searched me carefully, and when he seemed satisfied he nodded. "Drink more tea, Midoriya. It'll help."

I smiled, my eyes darting to my left and right for my teacup that must've flew out of my grip sometime ago.

The turmoil inside me continued to brew.

"Hizashi." Aizawa-sensei called loudly. The green-eyed man halted at the firm tone his friend'd adopted. "Will you please give us a minute?"

"Sure! I'll head to the cafe downstairs. You guys want anything?" He asked.

I shook my head. Aizawa-sensei said, "A breath mint. I felt like crap after not taking a bath for two days."

Present Mic saluted and went away snickering. The atmosphere became almost stilled, after he left.

"It's my fault."

I jolted, head snapped to Aizawa-sensei. "E-eh? Sensei?!" I asked, wide-eyed.

"If I'd fail him..." His gaze was directed at the door. "Then I must've known it was my fault."

There was something akin to salt in my tongue, it's weight as heavy as the sea.

"But..." He heaved a breath. "I would know too, that there's no time to dwell in guilt. If I had fail him or other people, how can I live with myself, knowing that it was very possible to fail them again?"

I held a breath, enraptured at the figure in front of me. Even though I couldn't see anything but his eyes, he seemed radiant with conviction shining from him.

"There's nothing I can do to change the past, so I should focus to the future. _Change_ what's changeable, not the other way around. Focus more on training, make yourself stronger so the next time, you _won't_ fail anyone." He said.

My lips quivered. "But... how? Saying it is simple, but actually doing it..."

"Midoriya." He said my name with a weight. "If you doubt yourself, you won't be able to suceed. Just trust yourself and others around you, _never falter_ , no matter what."

 _"I'll always be here, whenever you need me."_

And it was like a drape had opened, letting sunshine to fill the room.

 _"Just go with the flow, Shizuka, but never let the flow control you."_

I've been doubting myself, this whole time. Trying to suceed, but never tried to rely on others. There was so many burdens I've put on myself that the weight had shackled me until my back had bent and stayed like that. I'd been so afraid of _my own Quirk_ , staying and barely skirting on the safe zone.

I'd been so afraid.

I wasn't as much, anymore.

"Sensei..."

.

.

"She's such a cute kid, that Midoriya. Right, Shota?" Hizashi mused, in the comfortable silence that'd envelope the spacey room.

Shota stayed silent, and Hizashi waited patiently, knowing that he'd told him, whenever he's ready.

A moment passed. Then two.

"She kept saying she _didn't_ move, as if she purposely did so even with her best friend's life in danger." He broke the calm thoughtfully.

Hizashi blew the steam from the tea. "You think so?"

"No." came the sharp response from his friend. "Midoriya isn't a traitor, or a bad kid. I have no doubt about it."

He hid his smile behind the plastic cup at the near snarled answer.

"Why did she left in such a hurry?" He asked, changing the topic to a safer one. It would no do for Shota to irritate his wounds. No one liked to see him in hospital longer than necessary.

Shota glanced at the window.

 _"Sensei... your words made me realize there's something important I must do."_

"To apologize to someone." He answered, his gaze subtly softening.

This time, Hizashi couldn't hold back a genuine smile.

Shota, no matter how old he'd become, seemed to always unconsciously denied what a soft bastard he was. Only a month, and he'd became so fond of a teenager he'd dare to imply to gamble his reputation and life for her.

It'd never happened to kids from years before, but it was apparent that this year's 1-A was special anyway. And now, it seemed, in many ways.

"Want some apples?"

Now, if only they tried to pay attention in his class.

.

.

"Shizu-chan? What are you doing?" A curious voice called.

I snapped my head left, away from the room I was about to enter, and to the wooden hallway where a woman stood.

Rei smiled at me, if a bit confused at how frantic I seemed. Her white hair nearly became translucent in front of sunrays. I might've thought she was a literal angel if I didn't know better.

"Rei-ba-chan!" I exhaled, running to her. " _Ha..._ Have you seen Shoto?"

"Shoto?" She raised her eyebrows. "He just left the house with Fuyumi to buy some groceries, actually. Did you two have a fight? Shoto is down and unusually silent since yesterday..."

My heart twisted. I pulled my lips into a grim line. "Yeah... kinda. I have to go to Shoto now, Rei-ba-chan! I'll talk to you later!"

"Wait, Shizu-chan—"

I slammed the door closed.

.

.

"...I was about to ask her to join my evening tea." Rei murmured softly, staring at the door in wonder.

 _What happened with those two, I wonder?_

.

.

A man once tried to sail his way to the end of the world.

I'd read about it once, on a research for elementary science project, on a corner of a library. He tried to confirm the truth in the theories of round earth and flat earth. After so many days sailing the seas, he finally got back to the place he took off. He'd circle the earth, and it became the deciding factor that our earth was round.

I wonder if this was how he felt.

Heart beating next to his ears, adrenaline on his limbs, anticipation and fear filled him up until there was nothing he wanted and feared more than reaching the end point.

A giddy smile formed on my lips.

 _It hasn't even been two days, and I already feel like this. How would I be if we'd separated for good?_

 _I can't imagine life without Shoto._ I realized.

I caught a glimpse of white hair, and shouted. "Fuyumi-nee!" The white hair revealed streaks of red as I got closer. I tried for a smile as she stared at me, obviously surprised, phone halfway to her ear.

"Shizu-chan? What...?"

"I came for Shoto. Where's he?" I asked.

"Huh? Well, he's inside— paying for our groceries—"

A bell jingled. A door opened.

"Nee-san, why did—"

I felt like falling to the ground. A few feet away from me, Shoto looked surprised to see me. A flash of pain went and gone in a second.

"Shizuka... wh—"

I tackled him in an impulse, clinging to him like a baby monkey. We fell down to the asphalt, the grocery next to us in a faint metal sound. None of us paid it any mind, though.

Shoto drew a sharp breath.

"I'm sorry, Shoto. I'm sorry sorry _sorry_ for ignoring you for two days. I'm being incredibly stupid, drowning in guilt because I _failed_ you back at USJ— I'm so sorry—"

Shoto twitched. "Stop saying sorry, you moron. I get you the first time. And..."

The arms tightened around me, and I leaned closer to breathe in the warm scent that was _him_.

"I know, stupid. I'm just glad you came back to me."

 _I never want us not being friends like this. Never want this to go away._

"Me too." I smiled. "Love you, Shoto."

 _I'm so glad to have you with me._

"Mhmm."

 _Me_ _too._

.

.

"You okay now?" Shoto asked quietly, his voice ringing in the cover of his room nevertheless. If it was anyone else, I'd thought it intimidating, threatening to made me break and burst and fell. But there was only quiet warmth and comfort and gentle chill.

It reminded me of a good memory. Seating next to a fireplace with a warm chocolate drink and falling snow outside the safe cabin.

( _A blonde smiled at me, his brightness shone much more than the sun._ )

It was Shoto, and everything was fine now.

I told him that, and he regarded me with carefully, his mismatched eyes gentle in a rare occasion, and he brushed a hand to my hair. The dark green tousled briefly, his touch leaving a comforting phantom.

"I'm sorry for ignoring you." I said. "You must be so worried I hadn't answered since yesterday."

His eyes sharpened, and he glared at me. "It's fine, just... _never do that again_."

"I won't. I'm sorry."

He settled himself back on the bed, eyes half-closed in contentment as he took comfort of my warmth next to him, reminding me that I'm fine, I'm alive—we're fine.

"Stop apologizing." He chided.

"Sorry."

It was silent then, in the way that wasn't uncomfortable. It was an often happening in our friendships, as we were both generally quiet and introvert people. It wasn't like we didn't know what to say. We just thrived in the fact that we understood each other so much that we needn't to speak to convey something.

We used to be such energetic children, but age drained them away. Much more to me, considering I should be in my thirties right now.

Laying here, surrounded by heroes and odd band posters and _vanilla_ , I was as close as I could be to home.

 _Home_ , where my heart belonged.

 _"I love you so, so much."_

We fell into a dreamless sleep, clutching at each other.

.

.

"A-Aizawa-san?! What are you doing here?!" All Might gaped upon entering the teachers' room.

Shota rolled his eyes, with a tremendous effort considering his condition. Sometimes, he wonder how such a dunderhead became the world's no. 1 hero. But then he remember his bright smile, the endless kindness and selflessness, and he resigned himself with a sigh.

Looking at his bony form right now reminded Shota, and he barely managed to stop a sigh. "School starts again today."

All Might blinked in bewilderment, then spluttered two seconds later. "But—but you aren't supposed to teach yet! You should be at the hospital—"

Aizawa stared boredly at the blonde. "Shuzenji took over my healing. I'm half-healed. The bandages are insurance—"

"YO! SHOTAAAAAAA!" Another blonde rushed in, like a hurricane that'd nearly bowled Yagi off his balance. An uncharacteristic scowl was on his face. "HOW CAN YOU JUST LEAVE THE HOSPITAL WITHOUT TELLING ME?! AND YOU'RE _SUPPOSED_ TO BE RESTING, NOT _TEACHING—_ "

"Indoor voice, Hizashi." Shota said sharply. His old friend visibly wilted, though the scowl was still prominent on his usually cheery face.

"I'm _telling_ Recovery Girl—"

"She already knows."

"Oh, then she must be _fuming_ in his office right now."

The statement hit a little too close to home, and Shota resisted cursing his stubbornness out loud because, no doubt, that his next visit there wouldn't be pleasing—at all. But he didn't regret it, he had responsibility to hold. And with the recent events _and_ upcoming ones...

His students need all the help they can get.

"OH THAT'S RIIIGHT!" Hizashi turned to the silent blonde. "Yagi-san, Shota, Principal Nezu told me that he needed you two in his office."

Yagi and Shota exchanged a confused glance. "What for?" What matters that the two of them had in common? Was it about USJ?

"No idea."

.

.

I managed to not arrive late.

I'd spent the night talking with Shoto, and was home near midnight. The excitement of the day had worn off and I ended up with boneless exhaustion that drifted me to sleep.

The door of the class opened without a sound, and just as I entered a foot inside, a familiar earnest voice scolded loudly—

"Everyone! Morning homeroom's about to begin! To your seats!" Iida yelled from the teacher's table.

"We're all seated."

"You're the only one not sitting, Iida-kun!"

Iida's face turned ashen at the realization, and I smiled slowly. _I missed this_ , I realized. _I missed them._

It's a both wonderful and scary thought that made me stepped inside the class unconsciously, heading to my seat.

"Midoriya-kun! Good morning! It seemed you aren't late this time!" Iida bellowed.

 _"This time"? I only got late once..._

"Glad you make it in time, Midoriya!" Kirishima grinned off rows of sharp teeth.

"Morning, everyone." I smiled.

I rubbed my wrist, the feeling of my pulse beating all too clear to me, the heady feeling had me a bit dizzy.

The door opened, and a mummy-like figure stepped in without hesitation. "Morning." He said.

"A MUMMY?!"

"A-AIZAWA-SENSEI?! Is that you?!"

"You're back already?! What an undeniable pro!"

"Are you alright, sensei?!"

"Glad to see you doing well, sensei!"

"I'm not sure you can call that _well_."

 _Is he insane?! He literally just broke his bones two days ago._ I stared, eyes bulging. _He wasn't even able to stand for five minutes by himself yesterday..._

Aizawa-sensei took a slow step up the podium. "My well-fare isn't important." I resisted the urge to shake him violently and yelled clear and loud— _yes, it freaking is!_ "Your fight is far from over."

"Don't tell me..." Kaminari mumbled.

"More villains?!" Mineta shouted, scared.

"Yuuei Sports Festival is fast approaching."

Blurry memories rushed through me, faded vision of blue white uniform ripped and teared at the edges, rushing feets and heavy breaths trying to _reach_ , to _win_ ; sad, sad, lonely eyes haunted by the past, and utterly vibrant colors of _red_ shining through the distruction and obscured everything else—

 _"Change what's changeable, not the other way around."_

I'll be sure to do that.

"It is necessary, to show that Yuuei's crisis management protocols are sounds—that's the thinking, apparently." He explained. "Compared to past years, there'll be five times the police presence. Anyhow, our sports festival is _the greatest chance you'll ever get._ It's not an event that can be cancelled by a few villains."

The implication and the emphasis on his words had everyone on the edge of their seats, eager and breathless.

"Our sports festival is one of Japan's biggest events! The Olympics was once the world's sports festival. The whole country would be whipped into a frenzy over them. But as you know, that tradition had shrunk in scale to a shell of its former self. But as far as Japan's concerned, what's taken the place of the Olympics is... _The Yuuei's_ _Sports Festival_!"

The thunderous words left us determined.

"The nation's top heroes will all be watching, right?" Yaoyorozu asked. "They'll be there as scouts!"

Aizawa-sensei nodded. "Naturally, you'll gain noticable experience and popularity if you get picked up by a big-name hero. But your time is limited. Show the pros what you're made of here, and you'll make futures for yourselves."

I gripped the edge of my table, and grinned excitedly at Shoto who sent me a blood-chilling grin.

"This happens once a year, that means you only got three chances. If you aspires to be a hero, this is an event you can't miss!"

What we just went through two days ago was a life-changing experience. The fact that we survived only heightened everything.

We're survivors. Even Yagi-san thought so.

 _"The villains pick the wrong class to mess with. These kids... they **survived**. And they're going to be mighty heroes, indeed."_

But it was only the start of everything.

There are still many challenges ahead of us.

And the sports festival was just the first of many.

.

.

"This has got me so freaking pumped!" Kirishima stated with a fiery grin, some of the boys making noises of agreements. "If we show our stuff here, it's one big step towards going pro!"

"Hear, hear!" Ashido laughed.

"Guess I need to find a teacher soon." I smiled teasingly up to the vaguely confused Shoto. "There's still like a few weeks, but I need all the help I can get if I'm going up against powerhouses like you and Bakugo."

"...I guess you're right." He frowned, so faint I nearly couldn't see it. "Best of luck for you, then."

I cooed. Shoto looked half-put out and half-sad, looking very much like a kicked puppy.

"Don't worry, I'll let give you easy at first so you won't humiliate yourself—too much, I mean. 'Cause I'm _so_ going to get even more badass by the time Sports Festival starts." I smirked.

An eyebrow lifted, he stared down at me, clearly unconvinced. The way he coolly regarded me would have anyone else bristling or scared, thinking he'd looked down on them. I was able to see the glint in his eyes though.

"We'll see." He whispered, nearly purring _and well, fuck, didn't that made me shiver a bit._ He was dead serious.

 _Fuck. What chance do I have against Todoroki Shoto?_ Because I _would_ face him, either because of fate or his own doing.

"Midoriya-san, you're looking a little pale." Tokoyami informed oh-so-nicely, looking genuinely concerned as my eyes glued to the back of my self-proclaimed best friend.

"...Yeah," I breathed out. "I might die soon, Tokoyami."

Not many knew, but Shoto is a _ruthless fighter._ Efficiency and all that—the result of Endeavor's training, of course. I cursed my too kind heart sometimes, for all the unnecessaries it brought me.

"...Midoriya-san?"

"Shizu-chan... Tokoyami-kun..." A little headful of brown popped next to us, and had us exchanging weirded out glance. "Let's do our best at this sports festival!"

"...Ochako...?"

To be frank, the furrows of eyebrows and the strange smile she sported was wrong on her.

"Whoa... You're not looking very Uraraka, Uraraka-chan." Ashido sweatdropped, with Asui croaking in agreement next to her.

"Everyone, I'm gonna crush this!" She yelled as she stood on a table. Predictably, Iida could be found furiously scolding her on the side, even though I was sure she didn't hear any of it.

"Yeah! But talk about inconsistent characterization!"

"Uraraka-san's amazing." Yaoyorozu sighed. "But shall we go to the canteen now?"

"You guys go ahead, I need to head to the principal's office." I told Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami absentmindedly.

"Principal office? Is something wrong, Midoriya-san?" The ponytailed girl asked.

"Nah... I just—"

 _"Midoriya, a moment." Aizawa-sensei called as he walked to the door, with me following behind. Once we were safe within the confines of the hallway, and out of prying ears, I asked politely._

 _"Did I do something, sensei?"_

 _Visiting your bed-ridden teacher wasn't a crime, as far as I know._

 _He regarded me with bored stare. "Principal Nezu asked for your presence, on break time."_

 _Nezu-san...?_

 _Ah, that's right._

 _Two months surely did flew fast._

"—need to take a little test with Nezu-san is all." I told them.

"Test?"

"Yup. I'm on scholarship program so it require me to ace a test made by the principal every two months."

"E-eh?" Yaoyorozu looked genuinely surprised. "S—"

" _SCHOLARSHIP_?"

.

.

 **Word count: 4967**

 **hullo my faithful readers~ sports festival arc is starting, and i can't wait to show you the ripples shizuka made. also, it'll be a breakdown place between kacchan and shizu since they never really talk about what happened 10 years ago. and i plan on showing a character that should've shown up much later on this arc. more _aeron_ appearance too.**

 **Please, please leave some comments/reviews! Reading those made me so happy and motivated! Thx for your supports xx**


	13. i will leave my mark

**xiii.** _i will leave my mark_

.

.

After the little ruckus we'd made over my scholarship, I'd hurried to Principal Nezu. As expected, his tests are worthy of Einstein himself. They might be few in numbers, but they're very tricky and required advanced analysis skill. You know, the type of questions that have many answers, and none at the same time?

Yeah, that one.

It explained why scholarships here in Yuuei are harder to get in than even the recommendation program. Not only you had to pass the entrance test—both required brain and physic—but you also need to meet the demanded score and went through a test each two months given by the super genius principal.

But it's all worth it. Yuuei's scholarship only offers a 100% free, you can't get in with only 50% or something. Either you get the 100% or you don't. And it was a full scholarship, starting from the entrance money to monthly payments so long you continued to prove yourself worthy. There was just no option of slacking off.

It was hard, ridiculously so, but I did it anyway. The thought of my mom working hard everyday kept me going.

And going I did, having just finished another relatively hard test. While it was always the same kind, the questions always managed to surprised me.

"Young Shizuka!"

Having been lost in my train of thoughts, I nearly jumped out of my skin when a bolsterious voice called out from behind me.

I turned and found the no. 1 hero waving a bit shyly at me, two bentos at hand with his trademark grin. I glanced around, making sure no one was here. "All Might-sensei?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Can we eat together?" He asked sheepishly. "I've got a bento for you too."

I agreed, and we went quietly with him leading. All the way there, my mind was asking questions I didn't uttered outloud. Why did he wanted to meet me now? What did he wanted to talk about? The answer was so simple I nearly face-palmed: the Sports Festival.

 _Of course._

We arrived to an empty office room, where he deflated the second the door close. There was a desk and a chair and pretty much everything else an office needs. There were even cozy sofas and a stove that was clearly used to boil water. I could already spied chamomile tea packs and antioxidant green tea packs on a corner. Clearly, this is All Might's office room.

"I thought your room is with the other teachers." I curiously said.

"I have one there, but you can say this is my little solace. The principal knows about my condition, so he gave me this room for me to relax when I'm not in this form." He said, before breaking apart his chopsticks.

Nodding in understanding, I did the same and opened the black-colored bento box, stomach growling hungrily in anticipation of some delicious food—

" _Oh._ " My eyes widened.

If foods could sparkle, this one would certainly did so. The inside of the bento was soft deep red, but they were far outshined by the food themselves. There were tempuras fried to perfect shiny gold, stir-fried pork meat with onions and spicy barbeque sauce, thick golden tamagoyaki, salad with creamy looking white sauce, and even a desert of fresh cut bananas and oranges. The rice itself looked like it was _glowing_.

I turned the black top, and soon enough, there was a shiny gold symbols of sakuras in the corner, overlooked at first by me.

"This is... a Sakuro bento box." I gulped, trying to hold back the monster called hunger inside me. "Isn't this too expensive, Yagi-san?"

He swallowed and chuckled. "It's nothing, Young Shizuka! I know the owner—he's the one who made the food I needed for my condition. And I figured you'll appreciate this treat once in a while."

"I..." Tears embarrassingly started to gather in my eyes. And _hey, don't judge me, I love food, alright?!_ "Thanks, Yagi-san. You know me so well."

Yagi made a non-committal noise that I didn't pay attention to as all of it was directed to the _heaven_ in front of me.

Five Star food... _Here I come._

The first bite was surprising (in a good way) and soon I found myself couldn't stop. In the span of eight minutes, I'd finished everything except for desert, and decided not to be embarrassed by this. It was one of the best thing I've ever eaten.

Yagi, after finishing his bottle of water, observed me for a few seconds with an expression I couldn't exactly named. There were seriousness, fondness, and other things glinting from his eyes.

"Young Shizuka, how far along are you with One for All?"

I swirled an orange with a plastic fork. "I... managed to do a 49%, last time. I knew I have done a 50% before, but I'm not brave enough to take risks, I guess. I'm scared my arm might get broken again—especially in an important situation."

"So you haven't progressed since Yuuei started." He stated.

It sounded like the fact it was from his mouth, and I couldn't hold back a flinch. I might be bold and forward, but I was well-aware how cowardly I could become sometimes. There were just things that made me cautious, and overly so. Inflicting pain was one of them.

Yagi sighed, and I resisted the urge to flinch again. "Maybe this is the best you can do. But... it's far from enough."

"I know, I'm sorry, Yagi-san. I'll try harder, I swear." I whispered.

After all, he'd used this power in far past the 100% capability it offered. I had to be able to do at least 100.

"No, no, you misunderstand." He shook his head. "What I mean is, you're currently limited by your own fear, and that drew the line as the best you could do in your own. I haven't been much help because I'm busier now, but I reckon another teacher will serve your training well."

"You mean...?" I trailed, hoping.

"Yes, I'm going to arrange you a teacher soon." He nodded. "But beware, the two weeks you have before the sports festival isn't going to be easy. Yuuei won't offer you the luxury of time so you're going to have training after, and possibly even before. So prepare yourself."

"Yes, sir!" I saluted like a soldier.

"I have someone in mind, but I need to contact him first. But whoever ends up teaching you, you have to grow. Like a weed, grow faster than anyone wants you to, Young Shizuka. You are my successor, I chose you for a reason. So you need to shout it to the world, as the fledging symbol of peace, the next All Might..." His blue eyes burned with fire inside.

I waited at the edge of the seat.

"I need you to tell them that **'I Am Here'**!"

.

.

"...What's going on here?" Shoto murmured, eyes sweeping in alert at the mass of students that'd suddenly appeared in front of our class's door, effectively blocking the only way out. Understandably, it irritated a few people as right now was the time to go home.

Likewise, I felt quite antsy to go home. Two weeks weren't a lot of time and, frankly, I needed to up my training so I could at least made the job slightly easier to my upcoming teacher.

"Why are they blocking the door so suddenly?!" Mineta protested, bag slung on his shoulders.

"Scooping the competition, _duh._ Small fry." Kacchan answered, and kept walking toward the unmoving humans wall. "Because we're the kids who survived a villain attack. Makes sense that they'd want to take a look."

 _He's in a good mood,_ I noted. _Probably at the chance of letting loose and proving himself at the festival._

"No point, though. Move aside, _C_ _annon Fodders._ "

Next to Shoto, Iida was instantly riled up. "Can we please resort not to call strangers 'cannon fodders'?!"

He was ignored, as suddenly a tall boy stepped forward. His purple hair was as wild as his eyebags were, and the sleepy look he got reminded me of Aizawa-sensei.

 _Huh. If you look at him this close, he's really similar to him. Maybe the fans were up to something about the Shinso-Aizawa thing..._

"It's true, we came to get a look, but you sure are modest. Are all the kids in the hero course like this one?"

"Hah?!"

"Gotta say, I'm a little disillusioned if this is what you're offering." Shinso continued. "Those of us who didn't make it into the hero course got stuck with the general course and other tracks. There are quite a few of us, do you know that?"

"I didn't know that." Uraraka murmured, looking quite shocked at the revelation.

"Depending on the results of the festival, they might consider transfering us." He said. "Of course—"

His eyes swiped through us slowly, and I felt a shiver when they landed on mine.

"—the reverse is also _very_ possible for you."

He never smirked, his expression never changed, and his body didn't show the tension I felt. And yet, there was some kind of heavy atmosphere he brought here.

Maybe it was the result of his Quirk, maybe it was because of himself. I didn't know.

"'Scooping out the competition'? For a General Studies kid like me, this is the prefect chance to knock you off your pedestal."

But I know he's _determined._ More so than me.

 _"What I think you're truly lacking... is determination." Yagi said. "You're comfortable with your current state— **you shouldn't**."_

 _"Determination?" I murmured to myself._

 _"Young Shizuka, in this world, determination could change everything. The determination to win, to be on top... They're dangerous." He stated seriously._

 _But I still didn't get it. "What do you mean?"_

 _"You'll see, just—"_

"Consider this a declaration of war."

My classmates started to grow uneasy at that sentence, meanwhile Kacchan was surprisingly silent. The leave of Shinso, however, was made up with an appearance of another boy—albeit a more disheveled and uncool one.

"Hey, hey, I'm from class 1-B, next door!!" A guy with silver hair, silver skin, and noticable marks around his eyes popped up between the crowd. "Heard you guys fought some villains, wanted to find out more—but all I'm seeing is this arrogant bastard! You better not make fools of the hero course at the festival!"

"Tetsutetsu...?" I frowned confusedly.

"You know him?!" Kirishima asked loudly.

"Eh?!"

Somehow, my voice'd drafted through the whole room that everyone heard.

Even said boy himself turned his attention on me, to which I gave him an awkward smile and a wave in return. Gawking, he was silent for a moment before grinning hugely back at me. The whole unfriendly demeanor was gone in an instant.

"Midoriya! It's good to see you again! Let's have a good and fair fight at the festival!" He gave a thumbs up.

Sweat-dropping at the judging look directed at my back, I let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, of course. See you at the festival, Tetsutetsu."

And then he was gone like the wind.

Behind me, Mina giggled. "It's like he has a crush on Midoriya-chan. He practically lit up when he saw her!"

I turned, wide-eyed. "No, it's not like that! He's just a friend!"

"Wait, jerk, where are you going?!" Kirishima called out. "Thanks to you we've got a whole mob of haters now!"

"I don't give a crap." Kacchan stated, his tone uncaring.

"WHAA—"

"I'm heading for the top. Why should I care?" He continued, his voice as resolute and clear as if he was stating that grasses are green. He left, the crowd parting for him, half-forced.

 _"—never forget the determination you had when you wanted to clean the beach."_

 _The determination... huh?_

.

.

"We're here! Ahahahaha..."

"...Yagi-san, you're trembling."

"Ahaha! I-It's just been so long since I saw him! He was a great hero, but he retired early—not long after he quit teaching at Yuuei."

"That sounds familiar somehow..."

"Did you say something?"

"Nothing."

"Anyway, h-h-he w-was my homeroom t-teacher for a year!"

"Hmm? Yagi-san, your trembling got worse."

"A-ahaha! H—"

"What's your zygotes doing outside?! Come quickly!"

"G-good e-evening, sensei... This is my young successor, Midoriya Shizuka."

"It's nice to meet you—"

"Gran Torino's the name—"

"—though, I've never seen someone as short as you. You seemed to be shorter than even Mineta by an inch."

"Y-young S-s-shizuka!"

"Please take care of me."

"...This _kid_... ZERO POINT! What have you been teaching her, Toshinori?!!"

"S-s-sensei, I didn't—! _S-sensei_!"

.

.

 _"Hey, hey, why's the sky blue? Do you know, nee-chan?" The brunette boy ran in circle, hands spread wide like a butterfly._

 _"Hmm, maybe because the sky likes that colour soooo much that he chose it."_

 _"Eh? Then why does it changes, to orange and red and black?"_

 _"It doesn't actually change." I smiled. "It's just almost the sun's bedtime so his light dimmed down from really bright yellow to orange and red and even purple."_

 _"Waaahhhh, nee-chan really knows everything!"_

 _"Well, I do know a bit. But the sky's never black, you know. It's just a really, really dark blue."_

 _"Eh? Are you sure, nee-chan?"_

 _"Mmhmm."_

 _The boy smiled._

 _"Then why is it so dark now?" He asked innocently._

 _Brows_ _furrowed, I looked away from the boy. The beautiful meadow we were in were no longer beautiful, the flowers had melted away and nothing seemed alive anymore—not even the grasses. The sky wasn't bright, it was pitch black and the sun looked as if it was a bout to cry tears of blood._

 _"What...?" I whispered, breath hitching up._

 _What_ _happened?_

 _How—_

 _My_ _hand brushed against a layered thing—it was a dead butterfly, and I flinched away._

 _"Nee-chan... Hey, tell me, Nee-chan..."_

 _The boy smiled, even as his form started to coloured red and black and it even looked as if he was **melting**._

 ** _This_** _ **isn't real,** I froze up in horror, **this can't be real!**_

 _"J-Jace—" That's right. That's the little boy's name. He was a new neighbor that got attached to me because I'd save him when he fell from a tree. A sweet, innocent little boy._

 _"You know everything, nee-chan~" He smiled larger. "So... tell me, why did you let him do this?"_

 _The pool of red and black started to widen from his feet. A short sword stabbed through his heart_ _, the handle dark with blood it was hard to see the silver._

 _Drip. drip. drip._

 _"Why, nee-san?"_

 _Drip_ _. drip. drip._

 _The_ _worst part was... **I recognized that sword.**_

 _( **d**_ _ **rip. drip. drip.** )_

.

.

 _Drip. drip. drip._ The water from last night's rain dripped down in a rhythmic way from the roof outside the building, but the sound was clear to me even through the closed window. It was the sound that'd haunt me since morning came.

"You look hauntingly terrible." Enji commented, his blunt nature coming forward whenever he was around family—the person taking over the hero persona.

I pursed my lips slightly. I was well too aware of the eyebags decorating my face, but I was hoping it'll heal a few hours later. That was usually the case about anything that appeared on my face, even pimples. Except, the eight stubborn freckles situated on my cheeks. I'd long given up _that_ as permanent.

"Thanks." I sassed.

"Aren't you supposed to be patrolling right now, father?" Shoto intervened. He knew we were stubborn enough to take it into a full fight.

Definitely won't be a first.

"My sidekicks will be enough until this festival ends." Enji replied.

And the implication was enough to alerted us. It left me with a strange feeling. I thought he would be watching the recording later, not watching it live from spot. That only made me more excited and nervous at the same time.

Enji... at first, we didn't get along. We fought every chance we got—still was, in fact. But we got closer sometime on the decade we spent together, and as memories were made, he became precious to me soon enough. It felt like he was an uncle, the closest thing I had for a father after my own died.

He wasn't the type that spoiled me like my father did, nor he liked to show his love. But on the rare occasion he did, he did with genuineness.

And I love him for that.

Because it felt real.

And I'd long decided that, _screw the future_. I didn't care about Canon, about how he was in it and what'll happen to him. I didn't care, because none of it will happen.

I'd make a promise to myself that I can't break.

"I'm glad you can watch us." Shoto quietly said, practically glowing in happiness at the thought of his whole family (except his brothers—the busy buddies) watching him on the stand.

"Yeah, so don't disappoint me kids." He said gruffly. "Give your best, push yourself past the limit and _don't_ get restricted by imaginary lines. The whole Japan's going to watch you today."

 _Don't get restricted by imaginary lines_ ; what he meant was to be careful not to let rules and fears and whatever our brain conjured to restrict us, restrict us. It was basically his favorite line to say.

"So you two are going to go out there, fight _smart_ , and make a reputation for yourselves. Make the pro heroes, the _world_ , notice you. Go beyond their expectation."

His lips curled up.

"We're rooting on you two pipsqueaks."

.

.

"Nightmare?"

I knew it, the eyebags were too horrible.

"Mhmm, just a tiny one."

Shoto frowned icily. We were just simply too close that it was hard to lie to each other. And usually, I wouldn't even try; but today was the big day—I didn't want him to worry on me instead of focusing on the event.

I smiled teasingly. "Don't scowl too often, Prince Charming—I might fall in love."

He smirked, the tension loosening. "Speak to yourself, Ariel."

"What—" I gasped, outraged. "From _which side_ , do I resemble her?! If anything, I should be Mulan! Or Pocahontas, or Moana—"

"Or Aurora." He said.

I deadpanned. "Now that's just ridiculous. If anything, you're the one who loves to sleep so you should be her. Who knows, maybe a wandering prince might find you in your fancy mansion and kissed you up."

Shoto lifted an eyebrow, his flawless poker face coming to play. "At least I don't obsess on a princess whose got a stockholm syndrome."

My eyebrow twitched. Alright, he _asked_ for it.

"That's different. Belle loves Beast despite everything and that's beautiful unlike _your stupid face—_ "

"Todoroki-kun! Midoriya-kun!" Iida suddenly rushed between us, putting his body like a shield. The engines on his legs smoked slightly after the sudden usage. "Please do not fight! I do not understand what you are fighting about, but friends shouldn't fight! Especially not on a time like this—"

"Shizuka or Midoriya is better, honestly." I murmured to Shoto. "But at least he has stop with the 'san's."

"—USJ Sports Festival is about to start! It is our chance to prove ourselves to the pros and the world—"

"What is he lecturing us about?" Shoto asked.

"Who knows." I shrugged.

"—so _please_ , reconcile! I do not like seeing you fight!" Iida finished and drew a huge breath.

My lips quirked up. Iida was a truely unique person. He was genuine, honest to a fault, and innocent in a way. His way of expressing himself might be too much and seemed obnoxious at first, but everyone could tell he didn't mean that negatively. And those slicing air thing he did was awesomely entertaining.

"We weren't really fighting, Iida. We're just playing around." I explained with a smile.

Iida's face looked so confused I could saw the question mark above his head.

"You are precious." Shoto said with a serious face.

I couldn't help it anymore. I cracked up into a full blown laughter and hit my head on the table a few times as I tried to fold my body. People probably stared at me, but I couldn't care less. I was having too much fun!

 _Shoto's—he's such a comedy gold._ I exhaled, and snickered again. _He's a pure cutie pie hehehe..._

Iida shook his head and an excited grin entered his eyes. Was it my imagination, or did his glasses just glinted in a typical villain way?

"Anyway, Iida." I cleared my throat. "Why weren't you with the others on our class' waiting room?"

"I was given a briefing by Aizawa-sensei as the president of 1-A. It is my duty to make sure everyone stick together during the event!" He said.

"Oh, alright then. I'll help you too as I'm the vice president, so don't put everything on your shoulders." I told him.

"Of course, thank you Midoriya-kun! I'm very glad to have you. But... may I ask, what were you doing with Todoroki-kun? Everyone was supposed to wait inside." Iida asked.

Shoto and I shared a subtle glance. How did we explain that we just snuck out because the no. 2 hero—who's actually Shoto's father and my kinda-uncle—wanted to have a word with us?

We didn't.

"Um, well, you know what, Iida?" I made sure to glance at the clock in an obvious way. "Isn't the festival starts at 8?"

Iida stared, shocked. "But—it's 7.49! We must tell everyone to get ready now! Todoroki-kun, Midoriya-kun, I apologize, but I must head off first. I will see you soon in the waiting room!"

And he was off, leaving us in literal dust that got stirred up by his engine. Shoto gave me a small smile, and I grinned cheekily.

Strategy: Distraction is a success.

We arrived a few minutes later, and found our classmates already walking out of the waiting room, with Iida on the front to lead everyone to the open sports field where we would be doing the festival. Yaoyorozu gave Shoto and I a quizzical glance, and I smiled and mouthed 'toilet'.

I didn't see her answer, as a blonde stepped determinedly toward me.

I froze, as red eyes stared straight to me as if he could see my soul. There were resentment, dislike, and something else I couldn't decipher. Nevertheless, I felt like a prey for a growling tiger.

"Oi, shitty nerd." He growled lowly. "I'm gonna crush you today, so prepare yourself, _Deku_. All Might and everyone else might favor you, but that's nothing against my will to win."

He smirked with his teeths. "And I _will_ win. I won't lose to anyone, not even you. Remember that, Deku."

 _"I'll win next time, I'll win with my own power!"_

 _Don't make that face,_ I wanted to say. I wanted to reach out to him. _You looked like you're desperately trying to prove yourself._

 _There's_ _nothing to prove._

 _"You... I don't need you, Deku."_

My smile faded, and it was a slow thing.

"I know, Bakugo. But I will never back down. You're not the only one that need to win." I replied. "So I'm going to give it my all."

 _If anyone needs to prove themself, it's me._

 _To_ _Yagi-san, to Enji, to you, to the world._

He bared his teeth and passed by me, his shoulder hitting mine in a not quite hard way. I couldn't decide if it was a threat or a promise.

 _"This is my starting line, do you hear me?!"_

I didn't say it, because I knew Kacchan wouldn't want me to. The old me would've said it without thinking. She ran her mouth on daily basis, and hurt people along the way.

 _We've changed, huh, Kacchan?_ _We used to be so different, back then..._

But that was a decade ago, and a decade too long.

Maybe it's time to end the feud between us.

.

.

Walking through the tunnel and into the open field was like seeing light for the first time in a long while. Everything was blinding, but none of us paid any attention to it. Nor to the cheers and roars of the audience.

"The first years... of the hero course. IT'S CLASS 1-A!" I distinctly heard Present Mic shouted.

My eyes were focused to the front, to the small podium waiting for us.

 _"I need you to tell them that 'I Am Here'!"_

"Amazing..." Uraraka looked around breathlessly at the sight of the uncountable people staring at us. "They're really making me nervous, though."

"Now for the pledge!" Midnight-sensei yelled from atop the podium with a flirty smile.

"It's Midnight-sensei!" Mina cheered excitedly.

"But she's a R-rated hero. Should she really be teaching in high school?" Tokoyami thought out loud.

"The others are kinda happy, though." I glanced around at the sight of my fellow first graders, most of the boys were drooling at the sight of Midnight. "Especially Mineta."

"Yeah, no wonder there." Jiro grimaced.

"The students' representative... FROM CLASS 1-A: BAKUGO KATSUKI!"

I glanced at the blonde boy that walked pass me, his red eyes showing seriousness and quiet determination in equal measure. It was the first time I'd ever saw him like that.

"I pledge... that I'll be number one."

Then he continued with saying he'll 'step on us like stepping stones when he's on top', but his expression never deterred—even through the insults and dislikes the other classes expressed.

 _That face... he's definitely forcing himself to be on top._

Instead of being unnerved of his personality switch, all I felt was excitement blooming in my heart.

"NOW, LET THIS SPORTS FESTIVAL... _BEGIN_!"

.

.

 **word count: 4496**

 **whoaaaa, it's starting guys! it's really starting! anyway, i'm still pretty unsure about the challenges, so tell me your ideas!**

 **anyway, sorry if you guys are bothered with some mistakes i've made, and i really appreciate you telling me that—but the first few chapters' files were deleted cause i redownload the app once so i can't really fix them even tho i want to. so sorry for that :(**

 **love y'all, see ya soon! xx**

 **p.s. if you like _the vampire diaries_ , go check out my new story: **_DEATH'S WINGS_.


	14. there's nothing holding me back

**special thanks to** _NotWeird_ **and** _Jayla Fire Gal_ **! your comments pushed me to finish this earlier than i expected to. everyone else's comments are also incredible, so thank you too! i'm grateful you like this story!** **also;**

 _NotWeird_ **: omg lolll! i didn't realize it until you tell me! well, old people naturally flock to other old people, right? stay tuned to find out who else will join shizuka's little harem! XD**

.

.

 **xiv.** _there's nothing holding me back_

.

.

"Now, without any delay, let's get the first event started!" Midnight grinned and slapped her flogger as a screen lit up behind her. "These are the qualifers! It's in this stage that so many are sent home crying every year!"

 _Obstacle race... right?_ I remembered from my notebook.

"And the fateful first event this year is... THIS!"

 **OBSTACLE COURSE RACE** , was written on the screen.

"An obstacle course..." Tokoyami read lowly, his face thoughtful.

Shoto and I exchanged a glance, excited for something we'd never done before. Yuuei was always outdoing itself, and we never had an obstacle course _race_ before—usually, we only put some obstacles to run through in his dojo and did it one by one.

Noticing the look on our eyes, Ochako grimaced and shifted her body nervously, brown eyes glancing warily at me then Shoto. "Truce?"

Shoto smirked. "No way."

"Let's have a fair race." Yaoyorozu said.

"All's fair in war." I told them.

"Let's do our best, everyone!" Iida shouted, and class 1-A yelled back in agreement.

"RACERS, TO YOUR POSITION..."

The starting gate ahead shifted with _clank_ sounds, the buttons above it shining as signal. Immediately, I realized that the tunnel was too narrow for two thousand kids to go through at the same time—and everyone would fight to be the first.

It was the very first challenge.

"STAAAAAAAAAAART!"

One for All filled my legs with warmth as I used it to jump ahead of the struggling wave of teenagers, the familiar crackling in my ears. Below me, I could see Iida and Yaoyorozu speeding up and Tsuyu crawling on the wall.

I smirked. _We're survivors, we wouldn't be one if we couldn't get creative fast enough._

A familiar chill enveloped me from below and I looked down to see Shoto had bolt ahead, leaving his ice on the path _and_ people who cursed him. On his footsteps were the rest of 1-A, who I'd expected, but more people passed through.

Shoto clearly had underestimate them—he hadn't froze the whole ground—but nothing to worry about now. One for All's warmth dimmed as I started my landing carefully.

 _"I'm sorry,_ _Gran Torino-san. I didn't mean it. I swear." I shoved the plastic on my hands to the—dare I said it— **pouting** elder._

 _The yellow-clad man glanced at the taiyaki inside it and rolled his eyes but took them anyway. His fierce glare didn't shy away from me even a second. "Toshinori... that little shit..." He mumbled with a scowl._

 _I shifted uncomfortably. Once again, I'd put my feet on my mouth and ruined the first impression._

 _Gran Torino suddenly sighed, as if a weight was placed on his shoulders. "Well, let's get started now. You only have two weeks, right? We need to get everything crammed in that head of yours."_

 _" **Hai** , sensei." I straightened up._

 _He eyed my posture. "First, Toshinori said you didn't have good control on One for All. So let's begin with that. The first thing you need to **believe** , is that One for All is **yours** , it's your Quirk now and your Quirk is a part of you—"_

 _He fixed me with another glare._

 _"It's a **limb** , and you needed to start treating it that way."_

I landed beside Shoto who spared me a glance, but we didn't have time to chat when an enormous shadow landed on us.

Mineta jumped above us, smiling triumphantly and raised a handful of his Quirk. "Take this, Todoroki, Midoriya! KILLER G—"

He was promptly swatted away before he could say what I guessed would be _grape._ _What kind of special move named "killer grape" anyway?_ That'd be an insult to heroes everywhere.

"Multiple targets acquired." The robot said mechanically.

"Every obstacle course needs obstacles!" I could hear the grin on his face. "Starting with... the first barrier! _ROBO INFERNO_!!"

A dozen of robots appeared before us, each four times our height and ten times our weight. The pincers shone on the sun. Judging from the reaction around me, I took a guess and said this was the Zero Pointer robot everyone took in order to get to the hero course.

I had to admit, they made a pretty terrifying barrier.

 _But not enough for me._

I jumped without a warning and sailed past the robots smoothly.

 _"Sensei—I got it!" I panted, genuine smile painting my face even as I dropped down on the couch._

 _The old man deliberately stopped his air jet above my drained form, and I had to quickly spun myself out of the way. I landed harshly on the floor as he landed on the comfy sofa._

 _I_ _groaned, my limbs shouting protests._

 _My_ _sadistic sensei looked down critically at me. "Not good enough—"_

 _I swore, I never stood up that fast. The way he eyed me had alarms blaring on my head and I'd instantly knew he was going to slam his legs on me again. A confused look appeared on his eyes for a second before it disappeared, leaving me wondering if I was seeing things._

 _"Right, as I was saying, zygote—"_

 _"It's **Shizuka** —"_

 _"—One for All is a powerful Quirk. It's potent in the way that it's simple and useful in many ways. However, too many might lead you never actually controlling one aspect, so you needed to pick one first. In short: One for All is an item in a video game, and for activating it you needed to pick a type." He continued as if I hadn't said anything. "For example: Toshinori picked power, and it showed in every way he used it."_

 _"I see..."_

 _I hadn't known that, before. But it made sense. In the anime, Izuku had focused on using One for All on his legs, as opposed to Yagi who used it on his fists. But essentially, they were both using it as a power enhancer. Looking it more carefully, there were no way **every** user of One for All used it the same way as them, as it would reveal the truth of how it was actually the same Quirk too easily._

 _"Gran Torino-sensei..." I looked up. "What if... I picked **swift**?"_

He was startled, but then the exhilaration look that'd appeared on his face had scared me for a moment. Then the training that ensued next proved my fears, but everything paid off now.

"IT'S MIDORIYA FROM CLASS 1-A! THIS DARING GIRL HAD LITERALLY TOOK _A LEAP OF FAITH_ AND PASSED THE FIRST OBSTACLE WITHOUT ANY HESITATION!" Present Mic yelled enthusiastically.

I smirked down to Shoto, whose eyes literally _glowed_ as he froze the whole batalion and slide under them with natural grace.

 _Oh, it's on._

"He froze 'em! We can get through that gap!" Someone shouted.

"Bad idea." I told them loudly. "Considering—"

"—I froze them in pretty unstable position, so they'd fall." Shoto continued.

As if on cue, the robots fell down in a massive crash, effectively blocking the way for everyone beside us.

"Told ya!" From up here, the view was pretty fantastic; Shoto was shining with ice flakes falling down around him and the crash behind him had made him seemed like an ice prince.

"1-A'S TODOROKI! BUSTING THROUGH AND SABOTAGING THE OTHERS IN ONE MOVE! THIS GUY'S _COLD_!"

 _Ice Prince, alright._

"AMAZING! THEY'RE BOTH SO FAR AHEAD IT'S ALMOST UNFAIR! AND WHAT'S WITH THE 'CONTINUING EACH OTHER'S SENTENCES' THING?!"

A perk of being practically raised together.

Below, Shoto continued to glide as fast as he could while I took a boost from the ground twice already. We were practically bursting with fire.

See, the thing was, we were both taught by Endeavor since we were five, and he wasn't exactly known as 'the gentle hero' or something similar. Next to him being a slave driver, he was also demanding and actually _love_ to fight. And we kinda inherited it from him.

So yeah, we were bloodthirsty little shits whenever an exciting fight happened.

 _BOOM BOOM!_

"INSTEAD OF JUMPING, BAKUGO OF 1-A USED HIS EXPLOSIONS TO FLY! DOWN LOW DIDN'T WORK, SO HE WENT HIGH! CLEVER TRICK!"

I deactivated One for All, Kacchan sailed past me as an explosion sounded right where I was a moment ago. A second later, One for All was back and I'd jumped to behind him with a deadpan on my face. _Figures he would attack me that way._

"THE CURRENT LEADERS OF THE PACK ARE OVERWHELMING FROM CLASS A!" Present Mic announced. "WITH TODOROKI TAKING LEAD FROM THE GROUND, AND MIDORIYA AND BAKUGO BATTLING IT ABOVE!"

I gritted my teeth as I swirled my body to avoid another explosion. Now, if only Kacchan would let me be.

.

.

Bright blue eyes peeked from the dark shadow casted by his sunken bones. The large monitor showed the progress on the first stage, where—as Present Mic had said—the current leads were all from class 1-A. Not only Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki—Yaoyorozu, Sero, Tokoyami, Kirishima, Iida, and the others were fast approaching.

All doing their best.

Yagi Toshinori stared with solemn understanding. "Class B and the others aren't even bad, it's just..."

From the commentators room, Aizawa Shota observed the race with keen eyes while his partner kept his shooting his comments rapidly. His dark eyes were glued to the movements Class 1-A made.

"They know there's no time to hesitate." He noted, glancing at the footages that showed others that'd struggled and fell behind.

They've been exposed to the outside world. up close and personal. They've had that _fear_ planted inside them. And they've endured it. _Overcome_ it.

"Each has grown from that experience—and forgotten how to hesitate."

"Huh? Who are ya talking to, Shota?!" Present Mic asked loudly, his eyes darting through the room.

"...Shut up."

.

.

Irritated, I darted far away from the blonde who kept trying to make me fall. Ahead of us, there ground were divided. In between were small pieces of rocks, standing individually and scattered with only a piece of rope connecting them with each other's and the grounds. I could see the nets placed inbetween the rocks that meant to catch those that fall.

Clearly, this was meant to be the second challenge.

Below, Shoto slide through the rope with his ice, effectively both crossing and disabling others from using the ropes he'd used.

I jumped from rock to rock with ease, and I could hear Kacchan just flying ahead, gaining some grounds on me. Just as I crossed it, I heard the others arriving.

"SO THE FIRST BARRIER WAS A PIECE OF CAKE?! HOW ABOUT THE SECOND?! FALL AND YOU'RE OUT! YOU GOTTA CRAWL ACROSS IF YOU WANNA MAKE IT! THIS IS _THE FALL_!" Present Mic yelled dramatically.

The rest would at least need a few seconds to cross them, a few precious seconds that would change everything. Because, a few metres ahead of me, I could see small spots on the ground that had been dugged. The sign (Danger Mines!) made it clear.

I'd arrived at the third challenge.

"OUR LEADERS HAVE REACHED THE FINAL BARRIER! THAT IS TO SAY... _THE MINEFIELD_! A DEADLY AFGHAN CARPET! A QUICK GLANCE IS ENOUGH TO REVEAL THE MINES' LOCATION, SO KEEP BOTH EYES OPEN AND WATCH YOUR STEPS!"

I managed a meter before Kacchan knocked me harshly, sending me down the ground and tumbling in front of Shoto who had to stop and jumped me and continued without another glanced.

 _Wow. Harsh._

With a growl, I stood up and started running. The ache that'd festered on my legs showed that I'd started to get tired of using One for All. Even with two weeks in hell, I still didn't have full control of it. It was something that came with time and experience, and two weeks certainly fulfilled none of them.

That was to say, I was proud of my advancement. Even Gran Torino was amazed—he just didn't want to admit it.

"BAKUGO JUST KNOCKED MIDORIYA DOWN! _OUCH_! AND HE'S NOW FIGHTING WITH TODOROKI FOR THE LEAD! WELL, THIS GUY CERTAINLY DOESN'T PLAY AROUND!"

I sidestepped another mine, panting slightly. This would be easier if I just jumped around, but I needed to save my energy. I couldn't become completely spent just to finish the first round.

"THE REST ARE CATCHING UP QUICKLY, AND THE TWO ARE STILL FIGHTING FOR THE LEAD!"

I knew I wouldn't get first place with this. I'd never been a particularly fast runner—not while I was tired like this. And looking at Shoto and Kacchan fighting furiously up front...

I...

 _I don't want to **lose**._

I smirked tiredly. _To hell with this._

Taking a page from Izuku's book, I activated One for All on my legs, and took a deep breath before jumping forward.

A mine exploded right below me, and I soared forward.

"OOOH, WHAT IS THIS?! TURNS OUT, OUR LADY ISN'T OUT OF TRICKS YET! TODOROKI AND BAKUGO ARE IN LEAD, WITH MIDORIYA IN HOT PURSUIT!"

"She used the mine as a boost. It was a reckless move, but it worked." Aizawa-sensei noted.

"CLOSING... CLOSING...! AND MIDORIYA PASSED BOTH TODOROKI AND BAKUGO! SHE'S ON THE LEAD!"

"OI, DEKU YOU BASTARD!" Kacchan raged behind me, the tale tell of explosions flying closer to my still soaring form. Ice spread on the ground and I looked back to see them both stop their fighting and instead were focused on chasing me. "GET _BACK_ HERE!"

I faltered. _Oh, shit. Shit, I needed another boost—_

And I was flying right toward their advancing forms.

 _Oh, no._ _Nope._

With a grunt, I pushed up a leg and turned my body in the middle of the fall, letting One for All hummed in my outstretched hands as I neared them.

My hands touched each their shoulder, and I pushed myself up mid-air.

"AND MIDORIYA ADVANCED IN NO TIME WITH THAT LITTLE TRICK! INGENIOUS! YOUR CLASS IS SOMETHING ELSE, ERASERHEAD! WHAT'RE YOU TEACHING THOSE KIDS?!"

"This isn't my doing." Aizawa replied. "They've been spurring each others all on their own."

I pushed myself faster, One for All activating higher as I tried to reach the light faster, to be number one—

 _"Mama, I'm going now." I told her softly, trying not to trigger her into crying again. The older she got, the easier she cried, I think. I still remembered the time when we used to fight often—we were never as close as we were now._

 _"Be safe, okay, Shizuka? I don't want to see you get hurt." She whispered, putting a hand on my cheek._

 _"I will." I smiled sadly. "But you know I've gotta give it my all. I can't do it by half if I wanted to win."_

 _She looked resigned and ready to cry again. "Shizuka... do you have to be a hero? Why not be a nurse, like Mama?"_

 _"I want to be a hero, Mama. I want to be able to protect everyone that I love." I told her gently._

 _We_ _were silent for a moment as she cried silently._

 _"Mama... please watch me carefully, as I'm sure Papa will too. I will do my best to win, so please cheer me from here."_

A heat licked from my left, the explosions furiously tried to caught me as was the ice that valiantly tried to trap me. With a near mindless act, I managed to avoid all of them.

"THE ONE WHO MADE IT BACK TO THE STADIUM IS..."

 _"Tell them that 'I Am Here'!"_

"MIDORIYA SHIZUKA!"

.

.

"You did well." Shoto approached me, a bottle of water in hand as an offering.

"Thanks." I smiled. Truth to be told, I half-expected everything to be a dream. Everything just felt too good to be true—

Fortunately, I was never that naive.

"You too." I told him sincerely. "That was really close."

"You made Bakugo angry." He told me, subtly nodding his head to the direction of said blonde. When I turned to look at him, Kacchan sneered and walked out of the fight, his back to me.

"He's just competitive, that's all." I said quietly.

"You're defending him." He frowned.

I knew I am. I didn't have a clear answer why—but I figured I should start somewhere, right? I did say I wanted to fix our friendship.

"I'm tired of fighting him." If pretending each others didn't exist could be called that. "I want to be friends again."

If anything, my answer only made Shoto frowned deeper. When he made a face like this, the resemblance between him and Enji became clearer. His usual apathetic, calm demeanor mirrored Rei, but whenever he expressed his displeasure his eyes became a miniature of glacier, sending whoever he stared at a chill.

"Shizuka, I don't—"

"FIVE MINUTES BREAK IS OVER, KIDS!" Midnight yelled from the podium. "GATHER ROUND HERE, NOW!"

"Let's go." I turned to the split-hair boy. "Also—what do you wanted to say before?"

"Don't worry about it."

If I'd been a bit more sensitive, I'd heard the exhale right after I turned my body around. Saw the frown he sent my back.

I didn't.

.

.

"The first stage is over, and it's time for the second one!" Midnight began. "42 students had passed—"

The tvs showed the passing students' face along with their rank, and I straightened my spine as students around me turned to me as my face was displayed the largest. Next to mine, were Shoto's and Kacchan's. _8... 12... 18... 20._ I counted inwardly. Class 1-A passed brilliantly.

"—and for those who placed lower, don't worry! We've got another way for you to show your stuff!! And now, the _real_ selection begins!! The press corp's going to be jumping out of their seats, so give it all your best!" Midnight smirked down at our tense faces. "NOW, THE SECOND EVENT! I already know what it is, of course, but you must be dying of suspense!!"

"NEXT IS... _THIS_!"

 **CAVALRY BATTLE.**

"Participants will, on their own, form teams of two to four each and get into a horse-and-rider formation. The rules are fundamentally the same as those of an ordinary cavalry battles—snag your opponents' headbands while guarding your own... However, each of you has been assigned a point value based on your ranking in the last event!"

"So it's a point-based battle, similar to the entrance exam." Iida concluded.

"Entrance exam?" I asked.

"Yes, the practical test where we had to fight the robots we faced back on first stage." Iida explained, fixing his glasses. "But you, Todoroki-san, and Yaoyorozu-san didn't went through that, did you?"

"The tests for recommendation students are slightly different..." Yaoyorozu answered politely.

"The scholarship ones are different too." I piped up.

"Oh! You've got to tell us about your tests anytime soon, Shizu-chan, Yaomomo!" Ochako brimmed with energy and curiosity.

"Of course." Yaoyorozu smiled while Shoto made a noncommittal sound.

Midnight had gone back to yelling. "—ANYWAY, YES!! YOUR INDIVIDUAL POINT VALUES START AT FIVE, AT THE BOTTOM. SO THE STUDENT AT 42TH PLACE HAVE 5 POINTS, 41TH PLACE HAVE 10... AND SO ON. BUT..." Here, her eyes met mine and I shuddered at the sadistic look she had on. "OUR FIRST PARTICIPANT... IS WORTH _TEN MILLION POINTS_!"

Holy... _fuck_.

A brief calculating here. If everyone have 5 points for each rank they passed starting from the 42th, then by logic I should've gotten 210 points... _FUCK_ _YUUEI. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO—SO OVER?!_

Midnight chuckled as every heads turned to me, eyes scouring me from head to toe with menacing and challenging looks—I know I wasn't that impressive with 5'0 and frozen in shock. I suspect the R rated hero was laughing at my misery— _the sadist_.

"THE HIGHER-RANKED STUDENTS ARE THE ONES TO AIM FOR!! THIS SURVIVAL GAME IS A CHANCE FOR A COMEBACK. IT'S _ANYONE'S_ GAME!!" Her lips pulled. "As you must heard countless times since enrolling at Yuuei... this is _Plus_ _Ultra_! After taking first place at the Qualifiers, _MIDORIYA SHIZUKA_ HAS GOTTEN 10 MILLION POINTS!"

 _She's highlighting me_ _—e_ _liminating me from other participants!_ My brain warned me, trying not to fried itself from too much thinking. Right now, it felt like I couldn't stop myself from thinking the many possibilities I could ended up with. And not all of them good.

But... I _could_ make this work. I just needed a few things...

 _I need **them.**_

.

.

The cavalry battle had a few rules.

First, is that a team had to be made of two to four people, each team with a headband of the total score of the members. Secondly, that the headband(s) had to be worn by the riders at their necks and—if more than one—stacked up as we weren't allowed to hid them. It made guarding them more difficult.

Thirdly, the game wasn't over until the rider touched the ground or the time was over. Everything else was free game.

The first thing I did after Midnight allowed us to make teams were to run after a certain someone that I needed.

"Excuse me." I politely cut off the conversation. Clearly, it was starting to get heated so I was just doing them a favor. Ignoring the glares I got, I turned to the blonde.

"I want to team up with you, Monoma-san."

A silence followed. Everyone rather play it safe, with the short time we were given and the high stake—so everyone chose their classmates. It was a smart choice, to be frank, but it was also too predictable. Safe zones are often the reason why someone failed.

I had to play it smarter than everyone else.

Patiently, I waited the two of them to stop their gaping. Monoma and his white-haired friend sputtered for a moment in a confused manner before Monoma laughed.

"A-ah! The famed Class 1-A, who survived the villain attack _all by themselves_ , wanted to team up with _me_? Have you realized how Class 1-B is so much better than yours?!" He rapidly said, a maniac grin nearly split his lips with how big it was getting.

"Actually, it's just me that want to team up with you," I cut him, "and to be honest with you, you got all the facts messed up. We didn't survive by ourselves, there were teachers that protected us—we wouldn't have been alive without them."

I drew a deep breath. "We never asked to be attacked, you know. It's a scary thing—traumatizing, even. Do you know some of my classmates had to undergone a therapist for _weeks_? Even then, the memories will never go away. We experienced something some pro heroes would get nightmares from. We—" I clenched my fists.

 _—are just 14, just starting to learn how to be heroes. We hadn't realized how cruel reality is. Hadn't known the harsh truth that comes with being_ _a hero._

"None of us ever think we're better than anyone just because we survived." I narrowed icy eyes at the stunned blonde. "It's fine if you don't want to team up with me, or if you hate me. But don't insult my friends like that again."

I turned around, intent on searching for another member, disappointment and raging cold fire inside me.

"Fine."

I stopped, turning slightly. Monoma stared straight at me, for once his arrogant visage was nowhere to be seen. I stared back to his determined purple orbs, ignoring his friend who stood still at his side. "I'll team up with you."

"Are you sure?" I raised an eyebrow.

He grinded his teeth. "Don't make me regret it. Just tell me you have a plan."

"Wait!" His white-haired friend clasped a hand at my arm. "If Monoma's in, then I'm in too."

"Who are you?" I asked.

He scowled, offended. "Tsuburaba Kosei, 1-B. I can make air solid like a mirror."

Unlike Monoma's neat blond—nearly bronze—hair, Tsurabara had plain white hair that was short and spiky. His eyes were black and naturally wide, while Monoma's purple ones were more narrowed. It made him looked sharp in contrast to his classmate's 'gentlemanly' appearance.

Solid air? _Everything's falling into place._

"You're in. Now then—" My eyes wandered to a certain purple-head. "—we need to collect our last member."

.

.

"Team up with us."

Hitoshi stopped on his track, halfway to approaching a 1-A member with a mutant Quirk. The ten-million-points girl stared resolutely at him without giving a room for a "no".

"Why should I?" He stared at the green-haired girl and her friends suspiciously. "Why me?"

"You're a general course student, right, Shinsou-san?"

Her blond friend sneered. Next to him, the white-haired boy's brows furrowed. "A _general_?! What kind of help he would be for us?"

Hitoshi regarded the blonde with a deadpan. He was used to petty words and discriminations, the words didn't hurt as much as before. But—

 _It still hurts._

"He's just as determined to win as you do, Monoma." Midoriya replied. "And that's enough. Besides, I have a good guess of Shinsou-san's Quirk. I think, Shinsou-san, you can will others to do what you want, from what I saw from the Qualifiers."

"A mental Quirk?" Monoma gave him a calculating look.

"That might become handy." Wide-eyes boy remarked. "I'm Tsuburaba Kosei, 1-B."

He shook his hand. "Shinsou Hitoshi—from class 1-C."

"Monoma Neito, B."

Midoriya blinked. And blushed. "Midoriya Shizuka, class 1-A."

 _The class that underwent the villain attack,_ Hitoshi continued inwardly, but didn't say it outloud.

"My Quirk is called _Brainwashing_." His smirk widened at the surprised face of Monoma. "I can make anyone do anything I want as long as they replied to my words."

Monoma's eyes slided from Hitoshi to Midoriya and back again in consideration. "Hmm... This might work."

"It will."

Hitoshi's eyebrows shot up, and his smirk grew into a more genuine one. "Maybe, if we play it right."

He decided to trust them for the time being. If needed, he could just use his Quirk to make sure the team passed.

.

.

"Firstly, my Quirk is a muscle enhancer type. I could use it everywhere on my body to release wind pressure. Especially, my legs." I said.

"My Quirk is called _Copycat_. I can copy a Quirk if I touched them, but currently only for five minutes." Monoma said shortly.

"My Quirk is _Solidify_. I can blow air and turned it hard, like mirrors. It's all according my lungs capacity, though." Tsuburaba told us.

At that moment, I felt like I'd made a breakthrough.

I offered our headband to the wild-haired boy. "You will be our rider, Shinsou-san. As amazing as your Quirk is, you're not trained to move and fight like we did in the hero course, and we needed speed and agility—we'll have to avoid the teams that would chase after our points. So we're gonna have to play defensive most of the time. Your Quirk is perfect for it, especially because none of the others know about it."

I continued. "Monoma, you will be our right leg, so you'll be able to easily touch any of us. You're part of our defense, and our wildcard. Don't hesitate to copy our Quirks."

"Tsuburaba-san, you're the left leg. That means you'll be able to defend us and it makes moving easier since you'll be able to coordinate with Monoma easier."

I fixed a steely gaze at the heterochromatic eyes on the other side of the faux field. Around him were Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, and Iida. A few meters away was Kacchan and his team—Kaminari, Sero, and Kirishima. Around us, people had formed teams and moved to strategic places. Most of them have started to surround us.

"And I'll be at the front. I'll use my Quirk to jump us around and avoid other teams. I'd like to focus on speed and our movements, so I'll depend on our defense on you two—Shinsou-san needed to keep others from knowing about his Quirk as much as he can."

"They're going to be our biggest challenges, huh?" Tsuburaba pointed a finger at the direction of Kacchan and Shoto, a sweat forming despite his brave grin.

"Yo caught on quick." I grinned.

"TIME'S UP, PARTICIPANTS! HAVE YOU PLAN YOUR STRATEGIES OUT, OR HAVEN'T YOU? WELL, _TOO BAD_!" Present Mic yelled. From a side, "BECAUSE NOW'S TIME FOR CAVALRY BATTLE! TWELVE TEAMS HAVE FORMED, SO LET'S BEGIN THE COUNTDOWN! REMEMBER, YOU ONLY HAVE HALF AN HOUR!"

"Interesting... The teams they've come up with." Aizawa-sensei commented quietly.

"NOW, LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN! _FIVE_!"

"Let's get into position." I told them, and we lifted Shinsou to our shoulders.

" _FOUR_!"

Shinsou tightened the headband on his forehead. I felt Monoma touched my hand, and heard Tsuburaba taking a deep breath.

" _THREE_!"

"Ready?" Valiantly, I tried to stop the shaking in my limbs.

" _TWO_!"

"Speak to yourself." Monoma retorded without any heat. "I can feel you shaking."

" _ONE_!"

My green hues met grey and teal.

I smirked.

" _STAAAART_!"

The world moved.

.

.

 **word count: 5039**

 **sorry for the really late update, school had been (and still is) busy and i got a writer block. no excuses tho. i hope i could upload next chap sooner! also, the last half is kinda crappy because i rushed it.**

 **overhaul and the big three?! COUNT ME IN!!**

 **p.s. amajiki's one of my faves xxx**


	15. special chapter: Villain AU (part 1)

**AACM25:**

I know, but I had to tone it down for plot's sake ;_; so instead, One for All's power will get stronger the longer the user used it. It all depends on her control.

 **ice cream of the gods:** I would, but it's hard to manage just two stories. Wish I can control time like Doctor Strange :'

.

 **here's the very late update (_;)/**

 **and thank you for 500 favorites ( _and_ 700 follows) uwu, you guys are the best, i swear!!! *sends kisses and hugs virtually***

 **please enjoy~**

.

.

 **#01:** **INTERLUDE**

"E-eh? Kawama District got burned down in a single night?"

"Yes, and get this: no one can tell who the suspect is. No fingerprints, no footprints, the police and heroes are flabbergasted! Not even the CCTVs helped."

"I heard it's a villain doing."

"No one knows yet. Some people are starting to think it's an accident, maybe some gas exploded—ouch, _hey_!"

The gossiping girls looked up with scowls to the person who'd bumped into one of them roughly. Their indignation dissipated in the face framed by wild green hair and with doe-like eyes. She would've looked like an innocent angel, if it wasn't something in her eyes that made all of them shivered. Those green orbs were narrowed sharply with intelligence and darkness.

Coupled with her dark clothings, she looked like a death angel instead.

Scared, the four girls shuffled back to create a distance, and the dark look disappeared in an instant as if it was never there.

"I'm sorry, I startled you guys didn't I?" The green-haired stranger laughed sheepishly, potraying the perfect image of an innocent teenager. "I keep doing that, somehow. Anyway, sorry for bumping into you. I need to go now."

The four friends could only nodded in speechlessness as they watched the girl turned her back on them, confused of the sudden change of situation. The one who got bumped clutched her shoulder subtly, wondering how a passing hit could hurt it so much. It felt like it was swelling.

The green-haired girl's expression changed into a neutral look as soon as she was out of those noisy girls' range, her mind thinking back on their afraid expressions. But even so, they weren't afraid because they _know_ who she was. Rather, she came too strong and they just felt intimidated.

"How lucky." She smiled, a lip curled up at the end. They wouldn't get back to their homes if they'd realized it.

Sighing in disappointment, she adjusted her cap and continued on walking. The... _accident_ they were talking about was something she knew personally. And it wasn't an accident, not even the slightest. Kawama District was the main base of The Empire, one of the most dangerous mafia groups in Tokyo. Unfortunately for them, they'd messed with the wrong group and ended up burned to death, with only less than five survived to spread the tale. She just got back from hunting one of them—it was a truly pitiful scene the mafia had made.

The money and weapons they stole were only a plus.

Humans, with or without Quirks, are only humans at the end. And humankind were easy to manipulate—they only believed what their eyes see, and she took advantage of that. No one would be the wiser about what truly happened to Kawama District.

Everything went smoothly, ever since the group was officially formed.

Casually, she turned to a dark alley. No one paid any attention, as Musutafu was crowded with busy people and activities. In the end of the alley, there was a rusty metal door connected to a common building. But despite of it's look, the door was laced with anti-bullet material from the inside. With ease, she pushed the heavy door and locked it behind her.

Everyone had been expecting her.

The bar was filled with five people, each doing their own thing until she arrived. The place used to be an unused bar, until she and her friends had cleaned it up. It looked like a real working bar, with lights and drinks and additional couches for comfort. There were even a TV and a billiard. It served as a recreation room more than anything.

Her oldest friend narrowed his sharp eyes on her through the clear glass he had. "You're late." was what he said in short, clipped sentence. The words were tight with tension and if she didn't know better, she would say he was angry.

But beneath those tough exterior and foul mouth, Bakugo Katsuki was just a softie.

"Our experiment worked." She answered instead, and threw him the blue-gold chip she saved on her pocket. She absentmindedly tap their experiment—a transparent mask that covered her eyes with triangle holder on each side of her head—that she put on the bar table. In curiosity, they drifted closer. "Except that it couldn't hold longer than five minutes, and I concur it won't hold a powerful headache. The waves will break if I did use it in such situation. The chip contain every information we couldn't get about those mafias, by the way."

"I see." Katsu murmured to himself. "We'll have to redo everything then."

No one asked how she got the chip, nor what happened to the mafia. No one needed to, seeing her blood splatered shoes.

A yawn. Shinsou Hitoshi, another childhood friend of hers who had been silent in the couch at the corner of the room, stretched from his sleeping position. His trusted thick blanket was pushed aside as he stood up lazily. With how often he sleep, it was no wonder his purple hair was even _wilder_ than hers.

"Every single one of those mafias from that base are dead, should we start destroying everything else?" He asked, eyes still hooded with sleep even as he said such a thing.

"Perhaps, but it's not our priority." She said.

Teal eyes shone in the dim lit room, and their intensity was directed to her. "Then what is? I thought you're still angry about them trying to sabotage us." The oldest one asked—Dabi, he said his name was. The burnt skin of his arms, neck, around his mouth, and even under his eyes were decorated with staplers—it was a unique mark of his. Ironically enough, his Quirk was called Black Fire—the ability to produce fire hotter than the average.

She could only think of one person who had the same eyes and Quirk as him, but said nothing.

She exhaled a cup of vodka, wishing sourly that she hadn't ate all the lemons last week. "I _am_ still angry, Dabi, doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to attack them while they're still on guard like that."

"Is it time to go to Yuuei? Is it, is it?" A cheerful voice asked across the room, from where the speaker was sitting on top of the billiard table. Toga Himiko—a 16 year old who loved cute things, especially blood. A psychopath with an addiction of blood, in short. "Himiko wants to play with cute little heroes!"

"You have plenty of people to play with downstairs." Katsu scowled, and Toga pouted and reasoned that she was getting bored of them.

"How is Kaminari?" She asked, to which Hitoshi smirked at.

"Still the same as always. He planned to get into Yuuei's hero course next year—you know how good he is at acting." He told her.

She smirked back, knowing the truth Hitoshi held. Kaminari Denki might only be thirteen like Hitoshi and Katsu were, but he was truly a genius. Beside his intellect and specialism at technologies and mechanics, he was also very good at body languages—deciphering _and_ using it. It made him a very good spy.

If she could be honest, she never thought he was _the_ spy. Oh, of course many people thought so, but the cheerful and genuine way he brought himself made her thought otherwise—Hagakure was more suited as one. And she guessed she was _lucky_ , to have met Denki so early on. He had been a truly great asset and even greater friend.

"And about the recruitments?"

Dabi twirled an empty bottle in his hand. "It's going slowly, but he's starting to get interested."

"Twice wants to see you next weekend, Boss!" Toga informed, and she gave her a pat on the head for a job well done. As usual, Toga had fallen into bliss at the small gesture she made. Somehow, the blonde admired and looked up to her, even though there was nothing of note that she'd done.

Except murdering people, of course.

"Good. Toga, you have a new mission. It's not time essential but. . ."

Her mind drifted to the past, and an even further past. She remembered green hair, the same shade as hers, billowing in the clear blue sky. She remembered the faces and smiles and hope the children held, remembered the pro heroes she admired.

 _"Shizuka-nee, over here!"_

She exhaled slowly.

"Soon, Izuku... _Soon_."

.

.

 **#02:** **THE AERON**

 _{a few months before the interlude...}_

Dabi sighed, putting his hand on one hand while he observed the bouncing psychopath in front of him in languid manner.

"Do I want to know?" He asked, a bit warily.

In an instant, Toga was in front of him, her eyes seemingly shining. He resisted the urge to squint through the sparkles around her ( _how_ did she do that?).

"I'm going to go shopping with Shizuka-chan this evening!" She grinned, eyes turning dreamy. "I'm so happy!"

"I don't understand it. Why do you admire her so much?"

He really don't. If anything, he honestly preferred Shinsou than Midoriya or Bakugo. Shinsou was quiet and logical; he was the type of person to get work done as fast and easily as possible. Quite like Dabi, in a way.

"Because Sky Ripper is the best!" was Toga's simple answer, as if she couldn't understand how he didn't get it. And he guessed he couldn't fault her from that. She might be a psychopath, but he had to admit her reason wasn't wrong. After all, what kind of aspiring villains didn't—at the very least—respect another villain who made their name known world-wide under two years of their debut?

Even Dabi had to admit that was intimidating.

"Besides..." Toga blushed, and Dabi resigned himself to another episode. "Shizuka-chan's _so_ _cute,_ hehehehehe~"

"You crazy." He deadpanned.

Toga only continued grinning creepily and blushing, lost in what he guessed a world of her and Midoriya only. He was surprised, at first, to see how attached she was to a little girl. That never happened, under the year they'd spent together. She wasn't the type.

And now, three months later, they were thick as thieves.

"Toga, did—"

Someone opened the door harshly, and they watched as Bakugo walked out, a deep scowl etched in his troubled face. They didn't dare to utter anything, as he looked like he was going to fried the next person that bothered him.

"Why do you think Bakugo looked so angry, Dabi?" Toga asked as soon as the door was slammed shut.

"Dunno."

The door leading to hallway opened again, and Shizuka appeared, face brightened as soon as she saw the other girl.

"Himiko, there you are. Are you ready?" The green-eyed girl asked.

"Shizuka-chan!" And there the psycho acted again. "I'm ready! Are we going now?"

"Yup. Let's go."

"Wait." His word halted the girls mid-step. "What happened with you and Bakugo? If something's wrong, we should know."

Midoriya was silent for a second, before a smile was flashed to him. "Just a small argument—he went out to cool his head." She said. "We need to go before the sale started, do you want anything Dabi?"

He said no, and the girls went off. In the silence of the low lit room, he put a gentle finger on a small crack that'd appeared on a glass.

"She's really not good at lying, huh?" Dabi broke the silence.

On a dark corner, Shinsou shifted slightly in his curled position at the couch. He yawned, low and lazy.

"That's Shizuka."

"Ah, that's right." His eyes slide back to the cracked glass. "You, Bakugo, and Midoriya are childhood friends, aren't you?"

"More like Shizuka and I, and Shizuka and Katsuki, were childhood friends. Katsuki and I never met until years later." Shinsou explained.

"But you get along with him better now."

"Your prying tactic isn't subtle at all." The purple-haired boy sent him a smirk, to which Dabi refused to react at.

 _But you're very wrong,_ Shinsou thought. His mind taking him back to what he'd witnessed half an hour ago.

 _Shinsou watched, as his two closest friends took a seat near his lying body. His trusted sleeping bag covering him from neck to toe, and he snuggled into it. It felt comfier than any beds he ever slept on._

 _"We need to talk about our organization; the name, the official leader, how it's going to work. We need to make a sound system as soon as possible. You too, Hitoshi." Katsuki started._

 _Ugh._

 _"...Organization?" Shizuka asked, disbelief colouring her tone._

Ah, it's one of those days again, _he thought. Midoriya Shizuka, also one of the world's most famous villains, was undoubtedly the smartest person he knew. She had become a villain at 10, and at 12 she became known worldwide. Her ideas were unique and she always managed to surprise him. But sometimes, she was as slow as snail. A breakdown of her genius mind, he guessed._

 _Judging by the sigh Katsu made, he'd realized it as well. "Yeah, congratulation, you're not fucking going deaf."_

 _"No—no, I mean... When did we become an organization?" Shizuka asked again, still utterly confused._

 _Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Katsuki scowled. "We weren't, when it was just us three. But Dabi and Toga joined our alliance and people started to talk about us—five people were too much for a simple alliance, especially since we kept sticking together."_

 _"I see..." She murmured. "Then we should choose a name first. Any idea, Toshi?"_

 _He didn't even bother to glance at them, only letting out a yawn. The two took it as a negative answer and continued talking._

 _"...Aeron."_

 _Aeron?_

 _"Ay-ron?" Katsuki repeated brokenly._

 _"It's pronounced 'Aa-ron'. It means "god of battle and war", but it could also mean "carnage". Fitting, isn't it?"_

 _Remembering their goal, it sure was._

 _There was a silence too long, and Hitoshi peeked only to find both of them drowning in their own thoughts. Shizuka was looking strangely sad, as if she was lost in her own ocean of old memories. And Katsuki—_

 _Katsuki was staring at her with an undecipherable look in his eyes._

 _Hitoshi felt as if he was watching something intimate and private—he felt like an_ intruder _. Even after 7 years of knowing Shizuka and 3 years of knowing Katsuki, at that very moment, he felt like a mere stranger._

 _It was a strange feeling, and he didn't like it at all._

 _With a silent movement, he went out of the room, the forms of his friends shadowing at the front of his mind._

"Dabi, do you know?" He called softly. "Something that's broken can't be truly fixed. It might become whole again, but it'll never be the same as it was before."

There was only silence. Hitoshi sighed into the warm air of the room, and went to his room with his sleeping bag in hand.

Dabi exhaled softly as he was left alone, teal eyes tracing the thin cracks over and over again.

( _screamings decorating the hallway. a family photo fell and broke, throwing glasses everywhere. fire appeared, burning everything and the heat became stronger and the smoke was suffocating—_

 _someone screamed out his name._ )

 _"You like flowers, don't you?"_

"Of course, I know." He whispered.

He hadn't always been "Dabi", after all.

.

.

"Fuck it, fuck it, _fuck_!"

Bakugo Katsuki exhaled harshly, punching the wall in front of him in his anger, uncaring of the throbbing in his fist. Cracks had appeared at the brick wall because of the strength he hit it with, but he could care less if it broke down. All he cared about was excessing every bit of his energy until he dropped down.

Sweats dropped down from his face, each drop actually sparking a very miniscule explosion. He wasn't in the right mind—wasn't in control of his literally explosive Quirk. As soon as he'd gotten out of the base, his feet had run and run until it started to tremble and he was forced to stop.

And now, he was in a dusty back alley, halfway to the other side of the town, with only the cloudy night as the witness of his rage.

Blood spurted out of his knuckle as he once again punched the wall. He didn't react—didn't even realized. He was too numb and his mind too jumbled to register such small thing as a split skin.

 _"...Aeron?"_

His breathing became uneven once again as he unwillingly recall the conversation an hour ago.

 _Katsuki stilled inwardly, keen blood eyes watching her face carefully._ _Why_ _did she look so sad over a foreign word?_

He growled, the sound animalistic and primal. It suited—he felt like a crazed wolf, ballistic.

 _"Ay-ron?" was all that he could utter. The word sounded hollow and forced to his ears._

He was useless. Utterly useless in the sense that he didn't know what to do—didn't even do anything at the end.

He had been friends with her for over years, but it felt like he didn't know her at all.

 _Shizuka stared at him with tired eyes old beyond her age, as if she was tired of living already. Those green eyes, unfocused and looking through him as if she wasn't seeing **him**._

 _Who_ _did she see?! He's right **here** , right here in front of her—_

He punched the cracks, over and over again coloring the wall and the ground red.

 _BAM!_

 _She startled, staring at him wide-eyed. He stared at her, unfazed of the punch he'd delivered to the wall next to her head. "K-katsu?"_

 _"That's a fucking shitty look." He snapped, red eyes glowing in the dimly lit room._

 _Shizuka_ _stared at him, utterly bewildered and confused. She had the right—what he did was not logical. He had no right to feel this jumbled mess of emotion because of **one look** —_

 _He_ _did anyway._

 _"Don't ever show that shit again, you got it?!"_

"Damnit, damnit, DAMNIT!" He roared.

Anger kept swirling inside him, but it wasn't because of her or anything. It was because of _himself_ , how useless he was even though he'd endured years of training, years of bleeding and bruising himself, to become as strong as he was now. And not only anger, but agony, helplessness, and desperation clawed his heart.

It was three emotions too many.

Katsuki thought he'd caged every garbage emotion, 5 years ago, when he decided his future.

The wall shuddered, and broke down in a rain of brick pieces and dust. In front of him, stood dozens of men heavily armed, in the process of loading the guns. If the 'oh shit' expression they got wasn't enough, the clothes and shady room definitely stated that they weren't officials.

Katsuki grinned menacingly, and cracked his bloody knuckles. _He smelled **distraction**._ He surged forward, unyielding in the face of guns pointed at his face. His fists crackled loudly.

 _"Katsu-kun, thank you for being my friend."_

The terrified and agonized screams soon decorated the night.

.

.

"Shizuka-chan?" Himiko asked, confused.

They were at a bazaar, fishing clothes while having the occasional snacks then and now. An hour must've passed since their departure from the base, and Himiko never felt this happy for years. She didn't realize how much she missed girl time until now. And more importantly—it was spendwith her idol, the one person she adored more than anything.

But in the midst of looking through dresses, Shizuka had suddenly looked up to the night sky. It was so cloudy that the moon couldn't be seen, a sure sign of upcoming rain. But Shizuka had looked up as if she heard something.

"Shizuka-chan?" She repeated, when she didn't answer.

Shizuka blinked, back to reality. Himiko asked, "what is it?"

Pink lips curved into a sincere smile, as if she'd heard something that made her happy. She might as well have been, considering her Quirk. "Nothing, I just thought I heard a friend calling."

 _"Don't ever show that shit again, you got it?!"_

 _I don't_ _want you to make that face again._

Shizuka scoffed happily. Katsu had always been reluctant to express his love. Even though, she didn't understand what Katsu meant. What kind of face did she make?

Oh, well.

"Himiko-chan, isn't this cute?" She pulled out a halter dress with a cut in the belly and laces on the ends. "It'll look good on you, _ne_?"

Himiko's purple eyes looked at the dress critically. "It's cute~! But Shizuka-chan's more suited in that! It's mature and cute, like you!"

"Really? Well, I'll buy it then..."

Himiko giggled, looking at the various paper bags they held in their hands. Being a villain was certainly a good job, especially with smart people such as Shizuka and Hitoshi. They never worried about money—there were several houses and lands in their name, as well as inventments.

Someone slide in from behind her, the body so close she could felt their clothes brushing against her own bomber. She tensed, feeling skin trailing on the bare skin of her leg.

 _How dare he—!_ "A-AAARGHHHH!" The man behind her yelled suddenly. Himiko turned to find a middle-aged man in a suit clutching his hand painfully, said hand was held in a twist by none other than Shizuka. He clawed her hand to no avail.

With a fierce expression, Shizuka growled. "Hands _off_ , you leech."

He growled, shaking off her hand and smirked arrogantly. "Oh, you're going to _regret it_!"

As if in cue, more men in suit appeared from the surrounding area, where they'd tried to blend in. But honestly, Shizuka and her had saw them coming miles ago, they just didn't expect to clash with them. However, their arrogance was an indicate that they were probably an amateur gang of mafia—they only had numbers to their advantage. Even that wasn't much.

Shizuka glanced at her, and Himiko nodded. "Run!"

They sprint out of bazaar area, and into a large alley. There they turned, facing the still running mafias. The amateurs were startled when they saw the two young girls running _to_ them, and fear soon entered their eyes when Himiko and Shizuka get their weapons out.

It was chaos afterward. Blood flew everywhere, raining down on both the dead and living. Himiko let out a hysterical giggle as she slashed another's head with her knife, spinning to face another mafia.

"Ooohh, it's fun! I haven't make a bloodbath for months, Shizuka-chan!"

"Glad I can help." Shizuka snarked, ducking on an attacking mafia and stabbing him from behind with her sword instead. The white blood glistened in red, the image of her swinging it around almost poetical. "32!"

"Whew," Himiko smiled as the mafia's scream was cut off and he collapsed, like a puppet cut off it's strings. Himiko heaved him up and threw the corpse carelessly on top of the corpse mountain. "That's the last, Shizuka-chan~"

"We didn't even need to use our Quirks." Shizuka wiped the blood on her face. "They're either new enough to not know us or they're foolish enough to challenge us."

"Let's change, Shizuka-chan! We can continue shopping, _ne_?" She asked. Shizuka nodded, heading to the paper bags they'd neatly put down on a corner.

Himiko smiled.

Dabi might thought Shizuka cold and suspicious, but Himiko knew better. Shizuka was _kind_ , kinder than anyone ever been to a psychopath and villain like her. She didn't have to defend Himiko, but she did. And she knew, Shizuka was always sincere in her feelings—she truly considered her and Dabi her friends.

Himiko really, really, reaaaaally love Shizuka~!

.

.

 **#03:** **BLACK AND WHITE**

 _{a year after the interlude...}_

"STAY BACK! Those are... _villains_!" Aizawa-sensei yelled, standing in front of them in an instant, goggles in position. Everyone tensed up.

"What?! What kind of villains attack a school full of heroes in broad daylight?!" Kaminari yelped, his body shaking slightly.

"They're only five?" Todoroki observed, uncertainty seeping into his tone. They were right in their disbelief, but _they'd passed Yuuei's top security and didn't even seem ruffled._

"They're strong enough to kill us and got away before any back up arrives." Yamada-sensei said, tone grave. It was the first time Izuku or any of Class 1-A saw the rambunctious teacher looked so serious. It only served to emphasized the danger they were in.

From the higher ground they stood at, Midoriya Izuku could see the five figures wearing identical dark long high collar coats. Three male and two female stood in a V formation. From here, they didn't look abnormal nor any had mutant Quirk—if anything, it only made them more unknown and _dangerous_.

Suddenly, the leader moved forward, startling everyone into a defense position. She did anything, but smiled. "Greetings, Class 1-A students, Eraserhead-sensei, Present Mic-sensei. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

"Hizashi, Kaminari, try to contact the school." Aizawa-sensei whispered.

"You won't be able to contact anyone." Her voice didn't risen, it was as light and casual as it was—as if she was just talking about the weather. It was _unnerving_ , not to mention how she seemed to be able to hear Aizawa-sensei. Could it be her Quirk?

"Nor will you be able to get out." She continued. still looking at ease. If possible, their teachers tensed up even more.

Izuku gulped as the realization set in. _She was dangerous, terribly dangerous._

"We are the Aeron... _And we are here for **you**_ "

Everyone panicked in unison, spooked at the way she talked and what she'd clearly implied. But more than that, they were most afraid of the name she just used.

The Aeron was currently the biggest villain organization in Japan, even topping the mafias that'd took the top for years. It was an organization that'd only stood for less than two years, as far as everyone knew, but that only made them more terrifying. They'd murdered, turtored, and taken more than countable. Not to mention how The Trinity was the lead of the organization. Before Aeron stood, The Trinity—a nickname the public created for three famed villains that'd terrorized the world with their presences—was one of the biggest name in Japan, not even All Might could capture them.

And Izuku had no doubt that the girl walking toward them was the leader of The Trinity— _the Sky Ripper_.

Izuku tried to curb the panic threatening to drown him, as he watched the black streaked green hair sways around in the wind, as if she was some sort of an avenging angel. But as she got closer, Izuku realized that she was _young_ , only a few years older than them, perhaps.

She smiled, the right end of her lips curled as if she was amused.

"Shizuka-nee?" He breathed out, disbelieving, because that smile—that unique way of smiling—was something only his long lost sister could make. Everyone turned to him, but he ignored them as he drunk in the girl like a man starved.

She looked like his sister so much that it hurt.

As if she heard his whisper, she looked directly into his eyes, that trademark smile widened. A lean hand took off the mask that covered her eyes, revealing sparkling emerald green eyes behind it.

The same eyes he saw everytime he looked into the mirror.

"Hello, Izuku."

.

.

 **andddd that's it! how do you think? i've always want to make a villain story but it's really hard to grasp villain characteristics and their point of views (especially psycopaths', so sorry if toga seems ooc)! so consider this a practice for the future.**

 **i debated between this and a soulmate!supernatural!au and had actually finished half of it before deciding this. might posted that one too. anyway, #03 will be continued on the next special chap, but certain plot twists had to be revealed first on the original story so that i won't spoil anything...**

 **tell me in the comments about your thoughts and if you have any requests~**

 **love, cas xoxo**


End file.
